
SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT 



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OREGON AS IT IS. 



Solid Facts and Actual Results. 



For the Use and Information of Immigrants. 

Issued by the Oregon Immigration -Board. 



\ . \ \ \ \ \ \ \ v \- \ 



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D. C. Ireland & Co , no Front St, Portland, Or, 




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INTRODUCTION. 

It is a matter of the most vital interest to the thousands of people who 
are coming to this country, to be put into possession of accurate and 
trustworthy information regarding it. That is the purpose of these 
printed pages. This publication is issued under the authority of the 
Immigration Board of Oregon. 

At the rooms of the Board in Portland the Immigrant will meet with 
a cordial welcome from the Secretary, who will give information about 
farms and lands for sale by private parties, or open to settlement, and in 
relation to the country generally, free of charge. 

At these headquarters the Immigrant will find a free reading room, 
where newspapers, maps, scrap-books, and records of farms and other 
lands, are always open to inspection of new-comers. 

Adjoining this office is a room for the temporary deposit of small bag- 
gage and parcels belonging to Immigrants. 

When you arrive in Portland make these rooms your headquarters. 

CHAS. H. DODD, Chairman. 
C. B. CARLISLE, Secretary. 



4^ / 



Oregon As It Is. 



As an agricultural region of country, offering rare inducements, and 
as a field for industrial and financial operations of all kinds, Oregon 
has. of late, come so largely into the perception or view of those who, 
out of the overcrowded elsewhere, are seeking new homes, that an in- 
tense and an almost universal desire to obtain accurate and trustworthy 
information in relation to the State has been awakened. This is shown 
in the thousands of letters of inquiry directed to persons, officials, and 
corporations, in all parts of the State. The object of this publication is 
to supply just this information - information that shall be full, right to 
the point, practical— that may be depended upon— taken upon the read- 
ing. There is nothing expedient or honest in over-wrought or highly- 
colored and rhethorically-embellished statements regarding this State as 
an immigration field. Oregon has nothing to lose, but all to gain, by a close 
and thorough investigation of all her offerings. Within the immense 
area of about 96,000 square miles, all desirability is held; nearly every 
interest is embraced; the agricultural factor is almost limitless, and for 
the investment of capital, ami pluck, and energy, the field in Oregon is 
golden with opportunity. No country in the world offers greater in- 
ducements to farmers than Oregon. She has an immense area of most 
fertile lands, easily reached by rail or water, and a system of transporta- 
tion throughout the interior, affording ample facilities for sending pro- 
ductions to market. Improved farms, as will be seen elsewhere in this 
pamphlet, can be purchased at prices which, to the Eastern farmer, must 
seem very reasonable. On these farms the immigrant will find himself 
in a well-peopled neighborhood, and within easy reach of all the com- 
forts, conveniences, if not elegancies, of the most refined civilization. 

THE STATE AS* A WHOLE. 

Having a Pacific Ocean coast line of about 300 miles as its western 
boundary, a width of 350 miles from east to west, 275 miles in extent 
from north to south, Oregon embraces an area of 60,000,000 acres of 
land. It is a vast domain crowded with bountiful resources that an em- 
pire might well covet. It is a land of wonderful resources, for her val- 
leys, both in extent and productiveness, are unmatched anywhere on 
the globe ; her hill and mountain sides bear millions of acres of splendid 
timber; many of her 'hills are ribbed with the precious metals and valu- 
able ores; the climate never made an honest enemy; her stock interests 
are almost beyond competition; her cereals are famous the world over; 
her fruit unparalleled for size or flavor; her markets and transportation 
among the best; her commerce compares more than favorably with that 



4 OREGON AS IT IS. 

of most of the older States; her industrial and manufacturing features 
already great and rapidly augmenting; her shipping is among the first 
in the country; she has an educational and school interest of which any 
of our States might well boast; her cities and towns, great and small, 
are growing, thrifty, busy communities; she has a dominant church in- 
terest and a social status that is in all its phases the equal of that of any 
of the refined and cultured communities in our common country. 
Briefly outlined, that is Oregon as a whole. Putting these features to- 
gether they constitute a rosary of inviting and potent inducements to the 
intending immigrant, whether he comes from the overcrowded and un- 
profitable districts of our Southern, Eastern or Western States. 



BJUQL.RO ADS. 

To reach this land of promise, immediate and impending is, at this 
time, an easy matter. Few portions of the common country are more 
accessible, either by rail or water. Two transcontinental lines — the 
Union Pacific and Oregon Short Line, and the Northern Pacific, — bring 
the traveler to our commercial metropolis, and, during 1885, perhaps, a 
third line from California will be completed. A regular line of steam- 
ships run semi-weekly between San Francisco and Portland. Once in 
Portland, the immigrant will find rail and river communication with all 
parts of the State and the Pacific Northwest. A dozen lines of travel 
radiate from Portland to all portions of the State, and the traveler will 
find journeying rapid and comparatively inexpensive. The Oregon 
Short Line is the connecting link between the Oregon Eailway and Nav- 
igation Company's lines and those of the Union Pacific system. The 
Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, the Oregon Short Line and 
the Union Pacific form the new through broad-gauge line, with through 
cars, and affords the immigrant a splendid opportunity of seeing the 
Southern Idaho country and that portion of Oregon lying east of the 
Cascades. Emigrant sleepers, with free berths, are hauled the entire 
length of the Oregon Short Line and Northern Pacific, on first-class 
passenger trains. 

Appended are the routes of travel which now radiate from Portland, 
with the mileage in operation : 

XJPPEK COLUMBIA KOUTE. MtleS. 

From Portland to The Dalles, by the Oregon Kailway and Naviga- 
tion Company's steamboats 110 

From Portland to Bolles' Junction, by the Oregon Kailway and 
Navigation Company's Railway 270 

From Bolles' Junction to Dayton, by the Oregon Railway and Nav- 
igation Company's Railway 13 

From Bolles' Junction to Riparia, on the Snake River, by the Ore- 
gon Railway and Navigation Company's Railway 31 



OKEGON AS IT 18. 5 

From Walla Walla to Pendleton, via Oregon Railway and Naviga- 
tion Company's Railway 40 

From Riparia to Lewiston, on Snake River, by the Oregon Railway 
and Navigation Company's steamboats 78 

From Umatilla to Pendleton, by the Oregon Railway and Naviga- 
tion Company's Railway 143 

From Umatilla to Huntington, by the Oregon Short Line 217 

From Wallula Junction to St. Paul and Duluth, Minn., by the 
Northern Pacific Railroad * 1959 

From Palouse Junction, on the main line of the Northern Pacific 
Railroad, to Colfax 88 

From Portland to Umatilla and Baker City and Huntington, via 
O. R. & N. Railway and Oregon Short Line 404 

WILLAMETTE VALLEY KOUTES. 

From Portland to Ashland, by the Oregon & California Railroad . . 341 

From Albany to Lebanon, by the Oregon & California Railroad 15 

From Portland to Corvallis, by the Oregon & California Railroad . . 97 
From Portland to Coburg, by the narrow-gauge division of the Or- 
egon Railway & Navigation Company 120 

From Portland to Airlie, by the narrow-guage division of the Or- 
egon Railway and Navigation Company 37 

From Airlie to Sheridan, branch of last named road 7 

From Portland to Dayton, Or., by Oregon Railway and Navigation 

Company's steamboats 45 

From Portland to Corvallis, by Oregon Railway and Navigation 

Company's steamboats 115 

LOWEK COLUMBIA ROUTE. 

From Portland to Astoria, by Oregon Railway and Navigation Com- 
pany's steamboats 98 

PUGET SOUND ROUTE. 

From Portland to Kalama, by Oregon Railway and Navigation 
Company's steamboats 38 

From Portland to Tacoma, by Northern Pacific Railroad (Pacific 
Division) 147 

WATERWAYS. 

The Columbia ranks with the great rivers of the world. It forms the 
northern boundary of the State, and, for a distance of more than 200 
miles, is a means of travel and transportation, and almost uninterrupt- 
edly so. Upon its bosom ships and steamers navigate at all seasons, 
transporting the products of the State to foreign climes or domestic 
ports. It is an avenue of wealth and wonder; Oregon's highway to the 
sea, and the artery of her commercial relations with the vast domain to 
the north. The Willamette, the largest affluent of the Columbia, flows 
through the heart of the valley of the same name, and is navigable for 
steamers through the grain-producing regions of that locality. The largest 
steamships and other ocean-going vessels ascend it to Portland. Snake 
River, another navigable stream, and one of the largest tributaries of 
the Columbia, forms the eastern boundary of Oregon, and separates it 
from the Territory of Idaho. Steamers ascend it to Lewiston, a distance 



6 OREGON AS IT IS. 

of 150 miles from its confluence with the Columbia. The Cowlitz is a 
tributary of the Columbia. This river flows in the midst of a splendid 
country, and is navigable for thirty-five miles. Along the coast, and 
emptying their waters into the ocean, are the Eogue, Coquille, Umpqua, 
Siuslaw and other smaller streams. In the eastern part of the State we 
have the Umatilla, the Des Chutes, John Day and many other smaller 
streams. 

CLIMATE. 

Among the advantages of a civilized condition of society there can be 
no more powerful factor for progress and for individual comfort and 
happiness than a genial climate. That is claimed for this State. The 
State, as a whole, has nothing to lose and much to gain by a careful and 
intelligent examination of the meteorological conditions and a compari- 
son with the most favored habitable sections of the common country. 
The climate of Oregon is signally healthful and invigorating. The strong 
point is its evenness. The mean average heat of July is 67 degrees. The 
mean average cold of January is 16 degrees; showing a mean deviation 
of only 21 degrees during the year. This compares favorably with the 
best climates in the United States. The violent atmospheric changes, or 
wide variations of temperature, so common in the Middle, Southern and 
Western States, are wholly unknown here. The summer is never made 
suddenly and abnormally cold a reversal of the season — nor suddenly 
and abnormally hot. The extreme cold in the valleys, during ordinary 
years, is, for the most part, a white frost, with a formation of ice an inch 
thick in exposed places. No matter how warm the days may be the 
nights are always cool enough to enable one to sleep soundly and 
refreshingly under a fair quantity of bed clothing. There is never the 
heat that enervates nor the cold that produces a torpor or inability to 
work. The air offers the tonic coolness needed by a man engaged in 
outdoor industry, while it has the mildness that is soothing and restful 
for his periods of relaxation. There is in the air that steady tone which 
is in itself an inspiration, and inviting to labor on the part of man and 
beast. Medium-weight woolen underwear is universally worn during 
the entire year. Sunstrokes are unknown. Meat may be cured and fruit 
dried in the sun, and the good house-wife has no worry about moisture 
on her windows or plastered walls. 

Nature has struck a happy medium between the climate of California, 
with its alternations of wet and dry seasons, and that of the Eastern 
States, with their shifting and uncertain changes. We do not have, here 
in Oregon, the torrid heat of California, nor do our winters remind us 
much of eastern freezings and thawings. The trade winds of the Pacific 
moderate the heat and cold, and with the great Japanese Ocean current, 
serve as a regulator of temperature. The thermometer rarely rises above 
eighty degrees in summer, in the hottest days, and scarcely ever sinks 



OREGON AS IT IS. 7 

below twenty in winter. So the most active outdoor labor may be per- 
formed throughout the year. Strictly speaking, the distinction of the 
seasons does not exist in Western Oregon as in the Eastern States, nor is 
the application of the terms dry and wet season entirely suitable. The 
rains, beginning last of September, fall with increasing frequency in the 
succeeding months, from November 20th, and reaching their maximum in 
anv one of the winter months. Diminishing then in intensity, they 
continue through June, falling then send-occasionally and exerting no ill- 
effect, excepting in case that the grain crop may suffer if far enough 
advanced. The rain-fall during a summer month may amount to two 
inches, or it may be nothing. Only twice in forty years have the grain 
crops been injured by untimely rains, for the season of harvesting is 
pre-eminently the dry time. The summer of 1883 was exceptionally 
dry; less than one-fifth of an iuch of rain fell in June, July and August, 
and it was not until the last of September that the rain fell in sufficient 
quantities to extinguish the forest fires and clear the atmosphere of 
smoke which had for months obscured the country. Notwithstanding 
the lack of rain and the uncommonly warm season, no loss occurred to 
the farmers, but a very profitable crop was harvested. Drouth is never 
kuown in the Willamette Valley. There is, however, a peculiarity worthy 
of note. The occurrence of "cold snaps" of considerable severity, at 
intervals of ten or twenty years, constitutes an evil, which, although of 
no consequence in comparison with the extremes of other climates, is 
yet sufficiently remarkable to be noticed. These storms have only oc- 
curred, with severity, twice, or, at most, three times, since the advent of 
white men. They are characterized by the depression of the thermome- 
ter nearly, or quite to zero, and more particularly by strong and long- 
continued north or east winds, and a light fall of snow. 

According to the mortality statistics of the census of 1880, Oregon 
stands at the head of the list of States for healthfulness, the percentage 
of deaths to population being .69, Missouri standing 1.63. It is the 
easiest thing in the world to write up this feature, and to make exagger- 
ated and unsustainable assertions, but the Immigration Bureau aims at 
perfect reliability, and therefore presents only substantiated facts. These 
undoubtedly establish the assertion that Oregon as a whole, or in part, 
is the healthiest portion of the continent. 

In evidence of the above statement, we present the following record 
(official) of the average number of deaths per annum in every 1000 sol- 
diers, by disease : Florida. 28 ; Texas, 50 ; New Mexico, 20 ; Department 
of the Columbia, 9. Taking the years 186S and 1869, we have the follow- 
ing : Florida, 16 ; Texas, 11 ; New Mexico, 8 ; Department of the Co- 
lumbia, 1. 

The years 1870 and 1874 show the same average ratio of those making 
residence in the Northwest. From 1874 to 1880 the death rate w,«s, in 
this department, less than four in every 1000, while in the East it was 



8 OEEGON AS IT IS. 

about eight. In the deaths from malaria, this d apartment shows an 
average of ten per 1000, and in Arizona 160 per 1000. In diseases of the 
respiratory organs, the average here is one in 1000, while in Florida it is 
three in 1000. In the three months which we call Winter we have the 
climate of many lands. 

Another strong argument in favor of our climate is in its relation to 
agricultural production. The superior quality of our wheat, famous the 
world over, clearly establishes and enforces the fact that we have the 
sunshine, long days, cool nights, less intense heat in maturing months, 
necessary for the perfect growth of the highest grade of wheat. Not 
only this cereal, but the best climate for oats, rye, barley, corn, bops, 
grasses, flax, vegetables, fruit of all kinds, and berries of every kind 
imaginable, as belonging to4he temperate regions. 

JIOUHTAIIIfS. 

The two principal ranges of mountains in the State are the Coast and 
Cascade. They extend north and south in the western part of the 
State. The Willamette Valley lies in between these ranges, widest near 
Portland and narrowest 150 miles to the south, where the ranges are 
united by the Calapooia watershed. In the midst of the Cascade range 
we have Mount Hood, with its elevation of over 11,000 feet, and Mount 
Jefferson, 9020 feet high, as the principal peaks. Within view of the 
greater portion of the western and northern portion of the State, are 
Mount Adams and St. Helens. These ranges are unlike any seen east of 
the Rockies, and at all times possess a peculiar charm, and under their 
protecting influence the valleys enjoy that justly celebrated equability of 
temperature, and a much greater degree of warmth in winter and cool- 
ness in summer than is exprienced in a similar latitude on the Atlantic 
coast. During the greater part of the year these hills are charming in 
their robes of brightest green. They are interesting at all seasons. 

VALLE¥S. 

The principal valley in the State is the Willamette. It is 150 miles 
in length and has an average width of about fifty miles. The head of 
the valley lies about midway between the forty -third and the forty- 
fourth parallels, north latitude, and extends along the one hundred and 
twenty -third meridian to the Columbia River, which, near the forty -sixth 
parallel, forms the northern boundary. The valley is hemmed in on the 
east by the Cascade Mountains, on the west by the Coast Range, and on 
the south by the Calapooia Mountains. Following the contour of the 
coast, sometimes close upon it, and again from thirty to forty miles 
away, the Coast Range divides the Willamette from the many narrow 
valleys along the sea shore. The Cascade Range separates it from 
Eastern Oregon. In the neighborhood of forty -four degrees north lati- 



OREGON AS IT IS. 9 

tude the Coast and Cascade Mountain chains are united by the Cala- 
pooia spur. The valley is the widest along a line drawn east and west 
and a little south of Portland, and narrowest at a point about twenty 
miles south of Eugene City. Throughout its length numerous lateral 
valleys debouch upon it. The valley contains an area of about 4,500,000 
acres, one-fifth of which is held by actual settlement, or used as grazing 
lands. With the exception of Maine, the area of the Willamette Valley 
is greater than any one of the New England States, and nearly a dozen 
times as large as the smallest of these States. The Willamette, a navi- 
gable river, rises in the Calapooia Mountains and flows the entire length 
of the valley. Its general course is north, and in its flow gathers up the 
water of forty-two streams, several of which are navigable for steam 
boats of ordinary size. The smaller streams are well below the general 
level of the country, making the drainage perfect. The Willamette is 
not the only stream in the valley with an immense volume of water, 
but broken by verdure-clad islands ; flowing through this " garden of the 
Northwest," now in deep forests, again in the midst of rich meadow 
lands, it is indeed one of the really picturesque streams of the continent. 
But it is not a picturesque idleness, for these streams are watering this 
magnificent valley, forming a highway to a good market, furnishing un- 
limited power for mills and machinery, and clear, cool drinking water - 
for the thirsty people of our cities and towns. The scenic aspects of the 
valley are a constant s\irprise and delight to the tourist or resident, em- 
bracing views of cloud-capped and snow-shrouded mountain peaks, and 
the pastoral of hill and dale and wide-reaching farm fields. 

The central portion of the valley lies at an elevation of from seventy 
to four hundred feet above tide water, as the figures following will show: 
The bights are referred to the level of the " basin " below the Willamette 
Falls. Baker's Prairie, near Oregon City, is 135 feet above said level; 
Mollala Prairie, 137; Barlow's 4Q%; the surface of Pudding River — 
formerly known as Putin, of which "Pudding" is a clumsy imitation — 
37; French Prairie, 138; Lake La Bische, 97; Salem (corner Commercial 
and State streets), 113; Jefferson, 173; Albany, 161; Corvallis, 150; Eu- 
gene City, 373. To these elevations must be added a constant quantity 
representing the hight of the " basin " above sea-level, which, for ordin- 
ary purposes, may be assumed as twenty feet. 

The vacant lands of the Willamette Valley; or those open to settle- 
ment, are of four kinds, viz : United States Government, State, railroad 
and wagon road grants, and school and university lands. As elsewhere, 
the government lands are held at the price of $1 25 per acre; or, in case 
of lands within the limits of railroad grants, at double this rate. The 
railroad lands are subject to a price which varies according to location, 
being from $1 25 to * 7 per acre. They are, moreover, to be had on 
favorable terms as to time and modes of payment. Generally speaking, 
ten years credit is given; or less, according to the requirements of the 



10 OREGON AS IT IS. 

purchaser. The Oregon and California railroad has yet a large portion 
of its grant in its possession, and the character of its land compares 
favorably with that of the adjoining government or private holdings. It 
is chiefly rolling land, covered more or less thickly with brush, often 
bearing an immense amount of the finest timber, but sometimes is open 
prairie, suitable for cultivation and grazing. In respect to the cost of 
clearing, it is the same as the adjacent tracts. It is well for intending 
purchasers to bear in mind that the lands spoken of as vacant are so 
because they require to be cleared before they are of auy use. As to the 
cost of clearing up this brush land, the estimates vary greatly. As for 
their productiveness, they are not generally a whit behind the best valley 
lands, and they have, as before pointed out, very great advantages over" 
any valley land. As to the total quantity of unoccupied or untilled lands 
suitable for settlement along the edges of the valley, there can not be 
much less than two million acres, making proper deductions for tracts 
which are worthless because too rocky or too steep. 

Rich in its agricultural resources, in its cultivated and uncultivated 
lands, in its water powers and minerals; rich in its colleges and schools 
<>f learning, and with a climate unsurpassed for its salubrity, the Willa- 
mette Valley presents to the immigrant from the East advantages that 
cannot be matched anywhere in this country. 

Harney Valley is the largest body of agricultural land in Grant 
County. It is 240 miles southeast of The Dalles. There are numerous 
streams in this valley, and most of the land is very productive. The 
climate is similar to that of Eastern Oregon generally. The chief inter- 
est is stock raising. There are upwards of 200,000 head of cattle on the 
ranges there at all seasons of the year. The timber on the margin of 
the valley is among the best. 

Another of the fertile and pleasantly located valleys in Oregon is 
Grand Ronde, in Union County, Oregon. It contains upwards of 280,000 
acres of the best of farming lands; the soil adapted to wheat, rye, oats, 
barley, and all kinds of vegetables. As a stock raising region it is un- 
surpassed. It is in the midst of a mountainous region, and is traversed 
by numerous streams of water. Adjoining Grand Ronde on the east, 
and really a part of it, is Wallowa Valley, a very rich and extensive 
country, with the same general characteristics as to soil, timber, stock, 
grain, and the like. 

South of this great valley is the Powder River country; a valley fertile, 
and especially adapted to stock raising. The railway to Baker City is 
bringing this land into prominence and making it very valuable. 

Rogue River Valley lies midway between the Willamette and the Sac- 
ramento valley. It is especially noted for its fruit, ranking, in this re- 
spect, above most of the favored places in the country. The climate is 



OREGON AS IT IS. 11 

splendid the whole year through, and the soil is prolific. The crops of 
grain are marvelous in the eyes of the eastern fanner. The soil of the 
foothills is a quick, rich, brown loam, and in the valley proper, a deep, 
rich, black, vegetable loam. The valley has the best of markets and 
transportation facilities. 

GOTERNMENT LAND. 

There has always been more or less misapprehension among immi- 
grants regarding Government lands in this State, the general idea being 
that there are millions of acres of such lands lying iu the valleys, and 
all of it ready for the plow. This is an error. While it is true that 
there are millions of acres of Government land, open for settlement, it 
is as true that the great bulk of such laud lies in the Cascade and Coast 
ranges of mountains, and is heavily timbered. Along the foothills there 
is some sections of Government land which is denominated "brush land," 
and here and there in each quartet section a dozen or twenty acres of open 
land. This is true of the locality between Forest Grove and Astoria, on the 
Ceutral grant (now forfeited i: it is true of some portions of Columbia Coun- 
ty, Clackamas County, Washington County and Linn County, in Western 
Oregon. In the Southern portion of the State, in the Rogue River and 
Umpqua Valleys, in the Counties of Jackson and Josephine, are large 
able stretches of Government land. A part of this land lies along the 
small streams and in the little valleys putting into the Willamette. These 
tracts are not extensive, and a comparatively small proportion of the 
whole is available for agriculture. It is possible for the immigrant to 
find now and then an excellent location on Government land in the 
localities named here, under this heading, but it is a mistake to say that 
ten thousand immigrants can be so fortunate. If he must- have Govern- 
ment land, the new-comer will have to take his share of heavy timbered 
land and such land as is removed somewhat from the lines of transporta- 
tion. These claims will be very valuable by and by, and for the present 
will, if properly looked after, provide a good home for the immigrant 
and his family. But that "properly looked after" means much patience, 
some hardship and considerable hard work. It is best that the new-comer 
should realize this truth from the start. Lands without timber will be 
found in Eastern Oregon. 

HOW TO OBTAIN GOVERNMENT LAi^iD. 

PRE-EMPTION. 

Heads of families, widows or single persons (male or female) over the 
age of twenty-one years, citizens of the United States, or who have de- 
clared their intention to become such, under the naturalization laws, 
may enter upon any " offered" or " unoffered" lands, or any unsurveyed 
lands to which the Indian title has been extinguished, and purchase not 



12 OREGON AS IT IS. 

exceeding 160 acres under pre-emption laws. A fee of $3 is required 
witbiu thirty days after making settlement, and within one year, actual 
residence and cultivation of the tract must be shown, whereupon the 
pre-emptor is entitled to purchase the same at $1.25 per acre, if outside 
of railroad land limits, and at $2.50 per acre if within railroad land 
limits. A pre-emptor may submit proofs of residence at any time after 
six months, and obtain title to his land. At any time before expiration 
of time allowed for proof and payment the settler may convert his pre- 
emption claim into a homestead. No person who abandons his residence 
upon land of his own to reside upon public lands in the same State or 
Territory, or who owns 320 acres of land in the same State or Territory, 
is entitled to the benefits of the pre-emption laws. The latter provision 
does not apply to a house and lot in town. 

HOMESTEAD. 

Any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age 
of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who has 
filed his declaration of intention to become such, is entitled to enter 
one-quarter section, or less quantity, of unappropriated public land, un- 
der the homestead laws. The applicant must make affidavit that he is 
entitled to the privileges of the Homestead Act, and that the entry is 
made for his exclusive use and benefit, and for actual settlement and 
cultivation, and must pay the legal fee and that part of the commissions 
required as follows : Fee iov 160 acres, $10 ; commission, $6 ; fee for 80 
acres, $5 ; commission, $4. Within six months the homesteader must 
take up his residence upon the land, and reside thereupon, and cultivate 
the same for five years continuously. At the expiration of this period, 
or within two years thereafter, proof of residence and cultivation must 
be established by four witnesses. The proof of settlement and certificate 
of the Register of the Land Office is forwarded to the General Land 
Office at Washington, from which a patent is issued. Final proof cannot 
be made until the expiration of five years from date of entry, and must 
be made within seven years. The Government recognizes no sale of a 
homestead claim. A settler may prove his residence at any time after 
six months, and purchase the land under the pre-emption laws if desired. 
The law allows but one homestead privilege to any one person. 

SOLDIEKS' HOMESTEAD. 

Every person who served not less than ninety days in the army of the 
United States during " the recent rebellion," who was honorably dis- 
charged and has remained loyal to the Government, may enter a home- 
stead, and the time of his service shall be deducted from the period of 
five years, provided that the party shall reside upon and cultivate his 
homestead at least one year after he commences improvements. The 
widow of a soldier, or if she be dead or is married again, the minor heirs 
(if any) may, through their guardian, make a homestead entry, and if 



OREGON AS IT IS. 13 

the soldier died iu service, the whole term of his enlistment will be cred- 
ited upon the terms of required residence. Soldiers and sailors as above 
may rile a homestead declaratory statement for!60 acres of land through 
an agent, after which they have six months to file their homestead. This 
latter entry may be made in person. 

TIMBER CtTTjTUKE. 

Under the timber culture laws not. more than 160 acres on any one sec- 
tion entirely devoid of timber can be entered, and no person can make 
more than one entry thereunder. The qualifications of applicants are 
the same as under the pre-emption and homestead laws. Land Office 
charges are $1-1 for 160 acres, or more than 80 acres; for 80 acres or less, 
$9 when entry is made and S4 at final proof. Land to be entered must 
be entirely void of timber. Party making entry of 160 acres is required 
to break or plow five acres during the first year and five acres during 
the second year. The five acres broken or plowed during the first year 
must be cultivated during the second year, and be planted to timber 
during the third year. The five acres broken or plowed the second year 
must be cultivated the third year, and planted to timber the fourth 
year. For entries of less than 160 acres, a proportionate number of 
acres must be planted to trees. These trees must be cultivated and pro- 
tected, and at the end of eight years, or within two years after that pe- 
rio.i, proof by two credible witnesses mus^ be adduced, showing that 
there were at the end of eight years at least 675 living, thrifty trees on 
each of the ten acres required to be planted ; also that no less than 2700 
trees be planted to each of the ten acres. Fruit trees are not considered 
timber within the meaning of this act. 

LAND OFFICES. 

Government Land Offices are located at Oregon City,01ackamas County, 
Oregon; Eoseburg, Douglas County, Oregon; Lakeview, Lake County, 
Oregon; The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon; La Grande, Union County, 
Oregon; Olympia, Thurston County, Washington Territory; Vancouver, 
Clarke County, Washington Territory; Yakima City, Yakima County, 
Washington Territory; Spokane Falls, Spokane County, Washington Ter- 
ritory; WallaWalla.WallaWalla County ,Washington Territory; Lewiston, 
Nez Perce County, Idaho. The State Land Office for Oregon is at the 
seat of government, Salem, Marion County, Oregon. 

The timber lands lie mainly upon the interior slopes of the mountain 
ranges. The extent of this timber belt is very great; upon the western 
slope of the Cascades it is perhaps twenty miles wide, and runs the full 
length of the range. The locality of the forest extends from the snow 
line downwards nearly to the plains, but may be said to terminate in the 
brushy lands. There are some detached bodies of evergreen trees, par- 
ticularly firs, growing down in the valley, which are large enough for use 



14 OREGON AS IT IS. 

as saw-logs. The trees attain their greatest development at a consider- 
able altitude. 

Of the timbered lands, the best trees are found at medium elevations, 
and are accessible by ordinary logging roads. They have a value de- 
pending upon their nearness to market, or to streams of sufficient size to 
float the logs. The land is worth, for the trees alone, from five to fifty 
dollars per acre, depending upon the size and the number of the trees. 
"Stumpage," or the price of standing timber, is usually one dollar or 
(me dollar and a half per thousand feet, board measure. The principal 
trees found on low lands are the fir, pine, yew, ash, oak, maple, balm, and 
alder; on the hills there are scatterieg oaks and firs, while in the moun- 
tain regions grow the firs, pine, spruce, hemlock, cedar, laroh, and 
madron e, with more or less undergrowth, depending on the altitude. 

FOOTHILLS. 

While it is true that a very great proportion of the land in the valleys 
is owned and cultivated by the pioneers, or their descendants, this does 
not by any means comprise all the farming soil of this State. Besides, it 
is being shown every day that many of the owners of large farms are 
willing to divide with the bona fide farming immigrant, and at such rates 
as make it possible for him to invest in this sort of agricultural land. 
The foothill region of the State is one especially attractive to immigrants 
and persons with small means. In that part of the State there is both 
Government, State and railway land for settlement, and where the land 
belongs to private parties it can be purchased at a fair and moderate 
price. The markets of this section are convenient and transportation 
good. In fact, there is about this foothill region everything which can 
tend to make life comfortable and farming profitable. The picture is not 
overdrawn at all. The foothill farmer of the State is among the most 
prosperous in the State, if not on the American continent. He has ex- 
ceptional advantages over his brethren in the valleys in his facilities for 
stock-raising. He has untold acres in the upper hills, upon which he 
can herd his stock in the Summer months, and he can, without difficulty, 
cut hay enough to feed his cattle and sheep in the short Winter season. 
It is gratifying to state that the valleys of the foothill counties of Ore- 
gon are coming to be appreciated. It is indisputable that the counties 
verging on the Cascade and Coast Ranges are among the most produc- 
tive regions of the State. The inconveniences of early days are all 
passed away, together with the often rapid getting of money, and with 
it the alternate forced idleness. One might suppose from these facts 
that all the desirable land is already located. Not so. There are still 
remaining large quantities of land yet unentered, which, if put into its 
appropriate crops, is more desirable than any level land, mixed amoug 
tracts less valuable. These lands are specially suited to the man who, 



OEEGON AS IT IS. 15 

with patience and the help of his family, will soon make them into the 
most valuable lands in Oregon. All the advances made by the railways 
have brought these lands into ready connection with good markets, and 
will make every part of the State more favorably circumstanced than 
even the best localities formerly were. Men who view farming land as 
only worthy of consideration where large blocks lie together, or who 
value it only according to the ease with which large quantities can easily 
be cultivated, are grossly at fault. It is of no importance to the poor 
man that the plow can go over 500 acres in a single field. He only wants 
a hundred acres, or less even, and wants that in plots. In the mountain 
and foothill regions of Oregon there are a great many of these plots for 
homesteads for the farmer who cannot manage more than half of the 
homestead or pre-emption allowance, and who is satisfied that hillsides, 
if suitable, though often steep, may yield him more income in crops 
which a family can materially help in winning, than alluvial bottom 
lands in their crops which have to be Avon by his sole labor. On these 
foothill lands he can raise grain, and the best fruit, grapes and the veg- 
etables, and can always have flocks and herds of cattle. With the aid 
of sidehill plows these slopes can be utilized for raising grain of all 
kinds, while for orchards and vineyards no better location can be found 
anywhere. The foothill lands are destined to play an important part in 
the future prosperity of Oregon. There is still a good deal of Govern- 
ment land in these foothill regions, some for settlement through the rail- 
way land departments, and some school land. In all parts and sections 
of the*e localities lands can be secured at very moderate rates. 

MHERAL WEALTH. 

The mineral deposits of Oregon are mostly confined to the southern 
counties of Douglas, Jackson and Josephine, and to the eastern counties 
of Baker, Grant and Union. The mineral wealth is both large and 
diversified. Not alone in precious metals, but in coal, iron and other 
useful minerals the State is exceedingly rich. From the report of H. 0. 
Burchard, Director of the Mint, we take the following table of the pro- 
duction of gold and silver in this State last year: 

Counties. Gold. Silver. Total. 

Baker $190,000 $5,000 $195,000 

Benton 5,000 5,000 

Coos 5,000 5,000 

Curry 20,000 200 20,200 

Grant 240,000 25,000 265,000 

Jackson 135,000 2,000 137,000 

Josephine 175,000 2,000 177,000 

Union 60,000 800 60,800 

Total $830,000 $35,000 $865,000 



16 OREGON AS IT IS. 

He says it has been difficult to obtain reliable information as to the 
amount of gold and silver annually produced from mines in Oregon, for 
much of it is done by Chinese, who are reticent as to their operations. 
It is probable that the total in Oregon will be fully $1,500,000. 

In that portion of Baker county through which flow Burnt and Powder 
rivers and their tributaries, mining has thus far been confined to the 
precious metals, although minerals containing other metals abound. 
Placer gold mining, one of the principal industries of the county for more 
than twenty years, still gives employment to a larsre per cent, of the 
population, but is being gradually relinquished to the Chinese, who seem 
peculiarly fitted for that work and ready to pay a round price for ground 
already worked over by white men so long as the yield of gold will pay 
them fair wages. They are able to make abandoned mines pay, not 
because they are better miners than white men, but for the reason that 
they live more cheaply, and are satisfied with smaller returns for their 
labor. Baker City is about the center of the mining section, nealy all 
the mines of the county being within a radius of forty miles of that place. 

Gold was first discovered in Jackson and Josephine Counties in 1851. 
Perhaps the entire quantity obtained during the last thirty years has 
not been less than $40,000,000, more than half of which is to be 
credited to the first decade in which gold mining was prosecuted. 
Hitherto, as a rule, operations, in all their phases, have been conducted 
in a very superficial manner. True, some wonderfully rich deposits have 
been found, and worked with great profit. But only arastras and other 
primitive methods for crushing the quartz have been used. Claims were 
generally abandoned after the surface gravel was exhausted. The ex- 
pense and labor of sinking shafts, driving tunnels, and employing the 
other scientific and profitable methods now in vogue, have not been 
applied. There seems at present, however, to be a disposition to prose- 
cute gold mining with ordinary skill and vigor. Companies have been 
formed with the capital necessary to develop the real value of the depos- 
its. Several claims have been opened at various points, on which large 
amounts have been expended for the requisite machinery to carry on 
hydraulic mining on a large scale.' 

Coal will take a foremost rank among the mineral resources which are 
hereafter to be a prime factor in the growth and development of the 
country. The abundant supply of this raw material will keep in motion 
many prosperous industries. Immense beds of semi-bituminous and 
lignite coal are known to underlie many parts of the region. Coal is 
found at Yaquina, at Port Orford, St. Helens, and in Clackamas, Clatsop 
and Tillamook Counties. 

Iron ores, bog, hematite and magnetic, exist in great masses, and may 
be easily obtained. It abounds on the Columbia Biver, extending from 
a point opposite Kalama, southward almost to the falls of the Willamette 



OREGON AS IT IS. 17 

River. It is also round in large deposits in the Counties o) Columbia, 
Tillamook, Marion, Clackamas, Jackson and Coos. Smelting furnaces 
exist at Oswego, on the Willamette River, eight miles south of Portland. 
Deposits of rich copper exist at various points, notably on the line of 
the Oregon and California Railroad in Southern Oregon. Lead, tin, zinc, 
cinnabar, plumbago, gypsum, kaolin, pottery clay, mica, marl l a , graniV. 
limestone and sandstone are also found. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The people of Oregon are manifestly and justly proud of tneir edui«t- 
tioual institutions. No State in the Union makes a more generous pro- 
vision for its public schools, or has a more complete or effective system, 
and among the attractions of this State are the inducements it holds out 
to the intending immigrant of the Old World or our own States, none 
more worthy of attention than these facilities for popular education. 
As Oregonians we feel a degre'e of interest in this subject that justifies 
the pride we take in pointing to these schools as among the chief attrac- 
tions, and in claiming for them a high degree of efficiency, an efficiency 
that will compare more than favorably with that of any other State in 
the Union. The educational system embraces the three departments: 
The common schools, the normal schools, and the State University. The 
Willamette University is located at Salem, the capital of the State, and 
is in a flourishing condition, with a fidl corps of professors and teachers. 
The Pacific University is located at Forest Grove, and is su] ported by 
endowments. State University is located at Eugene City, arid the Cor- 
vallis College at Corvallis, to which is attached the State Agricultural 
College. The income for these institutions is derived mainly from a direct 
tax, imposed by law, though much of the support comes from the sale of 
lands, granted to the State by the general Government. The State 
Normal Schools are supported by appropriations from a general fund, 
and are free to all who desire to become teachers in the public schools of 
the State. The especial pride of the people is the public school system. 
In each county there is a Superintendent elected by the people, and in 
each district there are three Directors who manage all public school 
affairs; one elected each year to serve three years. In all cases the bal- 
ance of power is held by the profession most interested, and presumably 
the most competent in the matter. The most remote and thinly popu- 
lated districts have all the advantages of the public school system. 
Under this management the progress of these schools has been rapid, 
steady, and wholly gratifying. New districts are organized each year, 
and nothing is left to hap-hazard or incompetent management. The 
salaries paid teachers are such as to induce competition for places from 
tl e best people in the profession. The head of a family who brings his 
children, and comes to cast his lot among us, need have no fear of failing 



18 OREGON AS IT IS. 

in his duty to them iu respect to education. They will find schools, and 
the best. As to the schools and educational facilities in Portland, they 
are among the best in the land. 

CHURCH INTERESTS. 

The church interest is a dominant one in the State. There is scarcely 
a community or locality, no matter how isolated, but has its house of 
worship and a large and growing membership. In the cities and towns 
of the State the church edifices are commodious and handsome struct- 
ures, and the pulpits are occupied by some of the most able ministers in 
the country. 

PRICE OE LAND. 

A good deal of observation and inquiry inclines us to the belief that 
the average price of improved land in Oregon is about $20 to $22 50 per 
acre. Unimproved land in the valleys is estimated at from $10 to $15 
per acre, though large tracts are for sale at a much lower figure — as low 
as $4 per acre. Improved land in the foothills is worth from $8 to $15 
per acre, and this is among the best in the State for the man of small 
means. There are a great many considerations going to affect the price 
of land, such as remoteness or proximity to large towns, and the market 
and transportation facilities, the kind of soil, whether there are improve- 
ments — such as fences, barns and houses. Thus, one might go south 
from Portland, say sixty-five miles, and find splendid parcels of land at 
from $30 to $40 per acre, and within ten miles of these bodies of land, 
and still in proximity to transportation, market and the like, find excel- 
lent land offered at from $10 to $20 per acre, or even less. All of this land 
is well watered, and most of it partially timbered. Indeed, go where he will 
in the Willamette Valley or in southern or in eastern Oregon, the immi- 
grant cannot go amiss of all the conditions for successful farming. The 
railroad and government, as well as school landb, are sold at far less rates 
than any we have given. School land is sold at $2 per acre; government 
at $2 50 and $1 25; and railroad lands from $3 to $8, as an average. 
The immigrant will find plenty of such lands in all portions of the State, 
convenient to markets and easy of access to transportation lines. Thous- 
ands of acres in the State are available to the small or large farmer with- 
asufficient variety of location. In another part of this book we give a list 
of farms for sale. 

FARMmG. 

As regards the position which agriculture has already attained in this 
State, it may be said that while it is not so exalted as might with the 
almost matchless opportunities have been achieved, yet it presents no 
reason for repining. Progress has been slow; but the community has 



OREGON AS IT IS. 19 

attained the position of a self-supporting people, relying on themselves 
only for the great bulk of the necessities of life aud some of its luxuries. 
The exportations are the leading necessities of life, and hence indispensa- 
ble to the recipients. 

Small and mixed farming interchangeable terms — are the tendency 
of the day. and iu their progress point to the decline of wheat-raising, 
because by their pursuit the land becomes gradually too valuable to 
devote to a crop which is liable to return its raiser only $10 or $12 per 
acre. More lucrative pursuits will take its place, and these will be 
equally well adapted to the climate and soil, but will require much labor 
for their proper production. 

The question is often asked, "How do you farm'/'' It is simply im- 
possible to give any general rule. The farmer in Marion county carries 
on his occupation in accordance with the character of his soil and 
climatic surroundings. The farmer in Douglas, or Lane, or Benton 
counties adopts the mode best suited to his soil and climate. The first 
thing is to find the real character of soil or climate; the second, to farm 
in accordance with that character. 

Farmers who have followed mixed husbandry .in the older Eastern 
States, are needed here to introduce. diversified agriculture, and demon- 
strate that " some things can be done as well as others." Wheat is the 
great staple, but we need the experience of men who can establish a ju- 
dicious diversity in production. The class of farmers we have here al- 
ready carry on mixed farming to some extent, but they depend chiefly 
on wheat for the income of the farm, growing oats, barley, hay, fruit and 
vegetables for their own use, but not demonstrating, as a rule, that the 
farm can have something as a source of income every month in the year. 

The hay crop of the State is not excessive, as the demand for prepared 
stock feed is necessarily squall. The natural grasses of the State are 
very abundant and nutritious, and it has not been found necessary to re- 
place them by cultivated varieties, as has been done in the Eastern States, 
except in Western Oregon. In the open spots in the mountains grasses, 
green for the greater portion of the year, grow thickly, and are 
generally covered and shaded by fern. These grasses form the 
principal sustenance of the cattle and sheep which may chance 
to be in the neighborhood. The wild peavine grows there also, 
and is one of the most valuable forage plants. In these isolated 
places, oases, as it were, many thousand sheep and cattle pas- 
ture, high up in the mountains, and far above the settled locali- 
ties. They are removed thence on the failure of feed or the approach of 
cold weather. Bunch grass is a main dependence of the nomadic cattle 
men, and is, indeed, of inestimable value. The cultivated grasses are 
numerous. Timothy, otherwise called herd's-grass, is the principal va- 
riety, and is the staple for hay production. It grows extremely well. 



20 OREGON AS IT IS. 

Ked and white clover are esteemed of great worth, and their omture is 
practiced to considerable extent. Three, and even five tons of cured 
clover hay, the product of a single acre, in one year, are notuno/tmrnon 
yields 

FRUIT. 

Oregon excels as a fruit country. No finer fruit, of the kinas raised 
here, is produced in any quarter of the globe. Fruit trees will grow 
from six to eight feet the first year ; bear fruit the second, third and 
fourth years, according to variety. They thrive in the valleys, as well as 
on the foot-hills, and up to a considerable height in the mountains, but 
especially in dry, sheltered soil. Yearling prune, peach and plum trees, 
eight feet high, and yearling cherry trees seven feet high, havo been ex- 
hibited, Apple trees commence bearing very young, sometimes produc- 
ing fine fruit the second year after grafting ; and, if properly cultivated, 
are always in bearing when four or five years old. The fruit if) large, 
highly colored and of the most delicious flavor. It is free from the ap- 
ple worm and the bitter rot, and keeps remarkably well, many varieties 
lasting through the whole year. Pears also grow in great perfection. 
The trees begin to bear when remarkably young, and are exceedingly 
healthy and vigorous, and being entirely free from diseases, will live to 
a great age. The trees are very productive and the fruit highly flavored. 
Pears have been grown weighing over three pounds. Oregon is the very 
Eden for cherries, plums and pruns. The trees are perfectly healthy, 
grow vigorously and bear much earlier than in the States east of the 
Eocky Mountains ; and for size, beauty and excellence of flavor, the fruit 
is unsurpassed in any part of the globe. The plum and prune are en- 
tirely free from the attack of the curoulio. Plums and prunes, especially 
the latter, are found to be so profitable for drying, that orchards are be- 
ing planted for that purpose. Not less than two hundred thousand trees 
have been planted within twenty or thirty miles of Portland, in the last 
three or four years. Trees of all varieties of apple, pear, plum, prune, 
cherry, etc., known in the best catalogues, can be obtained in the nurser- 
ies near Portland, at reasonable prices. Strawberries, currants, rasp- 
berries and gooseberries, of a fine quality, are raised in abundance. Sev- 
eral of the hardier varieties of grapes are successfully cultivated. The 
summer nights are too cool for the successful cultivation of peaches. 

OTHER FEATURES. 

Perhaps wheat will always be the chief staple production of Oregon, 
but not the only one. Meadow and pasture can be adapted to the farm 
in such a manner as to yield a fair revenue, and answer another purpose 
that our people too often lose sight of — to sustain and even improve the 
fertility of the soil. There is no need that the soil should beoome worn 
out wh'en stock raising of all kinds, and sheep husbandry, can be made 



OREGON AS IT IS. 21 

reliable sources of profit. The farmer who keeps a few choice mares and 
cows, and breeds judiciously, can make them pay well. Here, though 
land is valuable, sheep can be used to some extent as scavengers, also to 
sustain the fertility, and their wool and increase will make rapid and 
satisfactory returns. 

Poultry oan be made to pay well, for we have a good market for eggs 
and fowls. This is already done, but could be better done than it is, 
and made a regular business. 

Dairying pays well when well carried on, and can be made a paying 
branch of every farm if carefully and scientifically conducted. 

Another branch of farm income, that is seldom encouraged as it de- 
serves, is growing and curing pork. Eastern readers will be incredulous 
when they are told that most of the towns in Oregon are to-day supplied, 
more or less, with bacon, hams and lard brought from St. Louis, Chi- 
cago, Kansas City or Omaha. Such is the case, however. All the fall 
and winter meat packers have paid eight cents per pound for good hogs. 
There is not a single thing in the conditions of our climate, or our pro- 
ductions, except that we have no corn as a general staple, to enforce 
this import of pork. We have the proper feed out of which to make 
good pork; and we do make some, but not enough. The man who 
wishes to engage in stock raising on the wide ranges can invest money 
in that, as much or little as he ohooses; can buy out some man in busi- 
ness, or go into it on his own account. He can locate, if he chooses, a 
land claim where he can do farming and keep stock also. It will be 
seen from this that the man who wishes to engage in the stock business 
can find in this portion of the world any opportunity he can reasonably 
expect. 

The hop grower can do as well here, and probably better, than in any 
old-settled hop growing district. If there is a good market for hops he 
can certainly grow the hops if he understands how. 

The market gardener can locate near some growing town — Portland, 
for instance — and can soon work up a good business. 

GAME. 

It would be difficult to find a finer field for the sportsman than Ore- 
gon. In all the valleys of the State, deer, pheasant, grouse, quail, snipe 
— the last four of unusual size — abound. In the fall, wild geese and 
ducks swarm along all of the water courses. Wild swan are very numer- 
ous on the lakes and rivers of southeastern Oregon. In the sage dis- 
tricts of the latter region, the sage-hen makes its home. The Cascade 
and Coast ranges and the minor chains are frequented by elk, deer and 
antelope in great numbers, as also by yellow and silver foxes, mink and 
marten. Black, cinnamon and grizzly bear, wildcat, wolf and the cougar, 
roam in these mountains. Of the larger game, however, only deer visit 
the uninhabited portions of the State. 



22 OREGON AS IT IS. 

COMPARATIVE TAXATION. 

In speaking of this matter of taxation, we make a comparison with 
California, To show it best we give the following table: 
Taxation. State. County. Town, City, Etc. Total. 

Oregon $ 177,653 $ 362,753 $ 40,550 $ 580,956 

California 2.540,383 5,068,041 208,691 7,817,115 

Average each person, Oregon, $6.40; California, $14. 

It the matter of public indebtedness the average per capita in Oregon 
is $2.40, while in California it is $32. 

WHO SHOILD COME. 

General advice can be given only to the classes of immigrants. The 
application of this advice to special cases must be the business of each 
individual himself. The same qualities are necessary to success here as 
elsewhere. Any other notion will lead to disappointment. No one 
should think of emigrating without sufficient means for self-support for 
a few months at least, after reaching- the objective point, for suitable 
employment immediately after arrival can not always be relied on, and 
there is nothing more discouraging to the new-comer than to become a 
subject of public or private charity. This caution applies particularly 
to heads of families, who would be cruelly derelect in their duty to ex- 
pose those depending on them to the risk of destitution on arrival. 
Families who contemplate settling on lands will require, after providing 
for all traveling expenses, from $300 to $500, with which to meet the 
cost of putting up a house, for live-stock, seed, farming implements, 
provisions, etc. 

Good health is the first requisite of a person who proposes to emi- 
grate to a new country, with a view to improving his condition in life. 
Although the climate of Oregon is so favorable as to insure exemption 
from many diseases which prevail in other States, and to promise relief 
in other ailments, the chances are that immigration will prove a mistake 
in the case of confirmed invalids who are compelled to work for a 
living. 

Generally speaking, persons accustomed to ordinary and mechanical 
labor, and who unite frugal habits with persevering industry, will run 
the least risk in emigrating ; but individuals unwilling to work, or ac- 
customed to live by their wits, are not wanted. Idlers will only go from 
bad to worse, and adventurers will not prosper. It requires health, la- 
bor, courage and persistence to succeed here, as elsewhere, and emi- 
grants must expect to endure the privations of life in a new country, 
holding before them the certainty of future comfort and prosperity. 
Capitalists could not make a mistake by investing their money here in 
the purchase of timber, mineral or agricultural lands, and by establish- 
ing manuf r.ctories for the production of all goods made of wool, iron or 



OREGON AS IT IS. 23 

wood. Such opportunities for making great wealth do not exist else- 
where. In this region money don't grow on trees, and most honest peo- 
ple get it only by the sweat of the brow, still there is enough filthy lucre 
in these parts to supply a moderate amount of it to every industrious, 
energetic person who is rightly anxious to work without being too par- 
ticular as to the kind of work. 

We can not, at present, encourage the immigration of more than a very 
few professional men— such as lawyers, doctors, surveyors and oivil 
engineers — unless they have money beyond the expected earnings of 
their profession, and are prepared to take their chances after arrival. 
Clerks, shopmen, or those having no particular trade or calling, and men 
not accustomed to work with their hands, if without means of their own, 
would probably meet with disappointment and, perhaps, hardship. 
Tutors, governesses, housekeepers, needlewomen, and women generally 
above the grade of domestic servants should not come alone to this State 
at present, and they should not come at all, unless to join friends or 
relatives able to maintain them for some time after arrival. 

A good woman servant might soon make money, there being a good 
demand for such labor. For men there is an open field with no favor. 
For women an open field full of favors. 

The urgent requirements of the State at the present time are men and 
mouey the laborer, the mechanic, the real farmer, dairyman, fruit- 
grower or stockraiser, and the large and small capitalist. Every man 
who is able and willing to work with his hands can find some employ- 
ment at fair wages, especially those who are fitted for farm work. Rail- 
roads, public works, mines, mills, logging camps, fisheries and farms all 
require labor. 

Any smart, active, capable man, with only a little money, but accus- 
tomed to work with his hands, is sure to succeed in making a comfortable 
home in Oregon. Wages are good; land, food and house materials are 
still relatively cheap. If such a settler has a strong heart himself, and 
is blessed with a common-sense wife used to country work, he may con- 
fidently look forward to becoming even rich. He need not long remain 
in the condition of a laborer. This certainty "of rising in the social scale 
must stimulate the immigrant. 

To farmers' sons, or persons with moderate means, qualified for the 
life of a settler in this country, who can not see openings in older coun- 
tries — who can not go up, because the passages are blocked ; who can not 
go down, because their habits and pride forbid- -the varied resources of 
the country would seem to promise success, if they avoid whiskey and 
are industrious and patient. 

Farmers themselves, with limited capital, who are uneasy about their 
own future, and that of their children, and are prepared to emigrate, 
should consider the advantages which Oregon affords, irrespective of 



24 OREGON AS IT IS. 

the climate, Avhich must be attractive to all. They should have at least 
sufficient capital to be independent for twelve months. It is often best 
for the father to go out and pave the way for the little folks. 

The monied man, who looks to the actual growth of industries in the 
State and the new permanent markets and industries which the trans- 
continental railroads create, and who considers the varied natural 
resources of the country, can not fail to find investments that will 
promise good returns on capital. 



oi>i> i-:.m»*. 

IMMIGRANT EATES. 

The following are third class rates from prominent eastern cities to 
Portland, Oregon, via the Northern Pacific : 

From New York $70 50 From New Orleans , . . $64 00 



Pittsburg, Pa 64 00 

Baltimore, Md 68 50 

Cincinnati, Ohio .... 60 00 

Columbus, Ohio .... 61 50 

Chicago, 111 53 50 

Nashville, Tenn 57 00 

St. Paul or Minneap- 
olis 45 00 



Buffalo 64 50 

Philadelphia 69 00 

Washington, D. C. . . 68 50 

Cleveland, Ohio 61 50 

Detroit, Mich 59 50 

St. Louis, Mo 53 50 

Indianapolis 60 00 

Kansas Citv 45 00 



The following are emigrant rates to Portland, via the Union Pacific 
Railway and Oregon Short Line : 

From Chicago and St, Louis $52 50 

New York 69 50 

Denver, Col 45 00 

Pittsburg, Pa 63 00 

Wheeling, W. Va 63 00 

Omaha, Council Bluffs, St. Joseph and Ft. Leavenworth. . 45 00 

From Portland the new-comer can go to any part of Western or 
Southern Oregon, by the Oregon and California Railway. The road 
through the valley takes the immigrant from Portland to Ashlaml, a 
distance of 341 miles, and gives him a splendid panoramic view of this 
portion of the State. He passes through the midst of one of the finest 
farming regions in the world. 

The same company operate a line of railway between Portland and 
Corvallis. on the west side of the Willamette River. 

The Immigration Board, through an arrangement with the Oregon 
and California Railway, issues special immigrant tickets to all points on 
the east and west side roads. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 25 

The reduction obtained by the immigrant is nearly 50 per cent. The 
following are the reduced rates to the points named : 

EAST SIDE. 

Single Round Single Round 

Trip. Trip. Trip. Trip. 

Oregon City ... 8 45 $ 90 Drain $ 4 85 $ 9 70 

Salem "... 1 60 3 20 Oakland 5 45 10 90 



Round 


Trip. 


4 '.)() 


3 20 


4 80 


5 40 


6 30 


7 40 



Albany 2 40 4 80 Roseburg 5 95 11 90 

Lebanon 2 70 5 40 Grant's Pass. . . 8 90 17 80 

Harrisburg 3 15 6 30 Medford 9 85 19 70 

Eugene City. . . 3 70 7 40 Ashland 10 25 20 50 



WEST SIDE. 



Hillsboro 65 1 30 

Forest Grove . . 75 1 50 

Yamhill 1 20 2 40 



McMiuuville . . 1 50 3 00 

Independence.. 2 30 4 60 

Corvallis 2 90 5 80 



Trains leave Portland mo ruing and evening. 



WESTERN OREGON SIA<;i: EIWES. 

Stages run daily from Salem to Dallas, Independence and Monmouth, 
in Polk County; also to Silverton, in Marion Couuty. 

A tri-weekly stage goes from Turner, in Marion County, to Aunisville, 
Stayton, Sublimity and Mehama. 

A daily stage runs from Marion, in Marion County, to Scio, in Linn 
County. 

A daily stage line connects Corvallis with Albany; also stages run reg- 
ularly from Corvallis to Philomath. 

A stage line is in operation from Roseburg to Coos Bay and Scottsburg. 

A regular stage line goes from Ashland, in Jackson County, across the 
Cascade Mountains to Linkville, in Klamath County, and Lakeview, in 
Lake County. 

Daily stages connect with the terminal points of the railroads con 
structing, south from Oregon and north from California, so that through 
travel is now made in two days or less. 

Daily stages leave Portland for Vancouver at 9:30 a. m. and 3:30 p. m. ; 
Vancouver for Portland at at 7:30 a. m. and 12:30 p. m. 

Daily stages leave East Portland at 8 a. m. for Mt. Tabor, Powell's 
Valley, Rockford, Pleasant Home, Sandy, Eagle Creek, George and Zion. 

Stages leave Oregon City Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 a, m - 
for Molalla, Mulino, and Wilhoit Springs. 



26 OREGON AS IT IS. 

QUESTION!"* ANSWERED. 

Writing to the Board of Immigration, inquirers desire to have infor- 
mation in detailed form. Below are given usual questions and replies : 

Hotel rates in the towns of the interior average $1 per day for tran- 
sient customers. This includes all accommodations and attention. 
Board and lodging by the week, about $5 at the hotels; about $4.50 at 
private houses. 

House rents in these interior towns are quite uniform. Good five-room 
houses, with some yard attached, can be had for from $6 to $8 per month. 

Farm hands command about $25 per month, by the year's hire ; harvest 
hands, $ 1.75 to $2.50 per day; house servants, about $20 per month. For 
mechanics, the average is probably $3 per day. 

Milch cows are worth about $30 each. Horses average $200 a span. 

Emigrants are recommended not to linger about the towns and cities 
at which they may arrive, but to proceed, with as little delay as possible, 
either to their friends, if they have any in the State, or to the localities 
where they are likely to meet with employment. 

The immigration agent at Portland will furnish information as to 
lands open for settlement in the respective counites, farms for sale, de- 
mand for labor, rates of wages, routes of travel, distances, expense of 
conveyance. 

A large, free way of life prevails in all the countries of the "Pacific 
Slope," or Northwest America, owing to their climate, circumstances and 
history. Men produce much; they consume much, and they spend much. 
This free way is attractive, but the young immigrant, in particular, will 
do well to bear in mind that thrift, here as elsewhere, is at the root of 
success. 

What is your climate ?— The best. Is your State well watered with 
running streams ? — Yes. Is there plenty of timber? — Plenty of it in the 
mountains and foothills. On what terms can farms be rented, cash?— 
About $1.75 per acre for cultivated soil. What grain rent ?— One-third 
of crop. Have you free schools? — Yes. Amount per capita of public 
money?— $2.25 and $3. What do teachers get?— Males, $35 to $80; 
females, $30 to $60. What minerals have you?— Gold, silver, copper, 
lead, iron, tin, zinc, cinnabar. What is your staple product? — Wheat. 
Hired help?— Male, $18 to $30 per month; female, $2.50 to $3.50 per 
week. Interest on money? — Ten per cent. What is value of cultivated 
land?— Farms, not above $20 per acre; uncultivated, $4 to $8. Average 
yield of wheat? — About 18; oats, 27. Average price of wheat? — 75 cents; 
oats, 30 cents. What is the cost of plowing?— $2 an acre; rolling, 30 
cents; harrowing, 30 cents; seeding, 1% bushels to acre; cost of trans- 
portation to market, $2 per ton for wheat, oats, barley, etc.; tax on culti- 
vated land, from 15 to 30 mills. Do you summer fallow?— Yes. Average 
depth of plowing?— Six inches. Do you subsoil? — Not generally. Un- 



OREGON AS IT IS. 27 

avoidable losses on account of weather? -Very slight. Amount of hay 
per acre? Clover, rive tons; timothy, three tons; cost of cutting, 50 cents 
per acre. Cost of dairy stock? — Common, $25 to $40. Cost of shearing 
sheep?— Seven cents per head. Does sheep industry pay? — Yes. What 
herds most profitable for wool?— Merino and Leicester. For mutton? — 
Southdowns. Average weight of fleece?— Three pounds. Price of wool? 
Average, 15 cents. Method of wintering? Mostly grass. 



POPULATION. 

The present population of Oregon is doubtless in the neighborhood of 
250,000. The vote of the State in November was 52,656. The usual 
estimate of five persons to a voter may be considered as about correct, 
and therefore the population of the State on January 1, 1885, may be 

considered as 263,280. This will allow for two months' growth since the 
election. By counties the population is as follows: 

County. Vote 1884. Population. 

Baker 1,792 8,960 

Benton 2,067 10,335 

Clackamas 2,495 12,475 

Clatsop 1,55(1 7,750 

Columbia 762 3,810 

Coos 1,445 7,225 

Crook 643 3,205 

Carry 335 1,075 

Douglas -J.:;;:. U,N75 

Grant 1,334 6,670 

Jackson 2,275 11,375 

Josephine 549 2,745 

Klamath 332 1,660 

Lake 387 1,635 

Lane 2,556 12,780 

Linn 3,167 15,835 

Marion 3,910 19,550 

Multnomah 9,020 49,100 

Polk 1,568 7,840 

Tillamook 377 1,885 

Umatilla 3,923 19,615 

Union 2.536 12,680 

Wasco 3,042 15,210 

Washington 1,847 9,235 

Yamhill' 2,266 11,330 

Total 52,656 267,280 

Portland is the chief city in the State, and has a population of about 
40,000 people. It is the commercial metropolis of the Pacific Northwest. 
The following table shows the number of business houses and corpora- 
tions of the several classes in Portland. It includes such branch houses 
as have actual establishments, and are engaged in active business here, 



28 OREGON AS IT IS. 

excluding those which are merely represented by agents having an office. 

Incorporated banks are not included, but private banking houses are. 

Such corporations only are mentioned as make Portland their bona fide 

headquarters ft ad the central point for the expenditure of their capitai. 

Capital. No. 

$40,000 to $75,000 45 

75.000 " 125,000 29 

125,000 " 200,000 15 

200,000 " 300,000 6 

300,000 " 500.000 7 

500,000" 750,000 ' 1 

750,000 " 1,000,000 4 

1,000,000 and upward 14 



COMMERCIAL.. 

The capital above represented aggregates considerably upwards of 
$30,000,000, exclusive of the assets of the largest of our con orations. 

During the year 1884, the v. lue of domestic imports by mil and water, 
amounted to $18,686,129. Tin foreign imports $1,013,866. V^alue of do- 
mestic exports for the same time, were $6,284,735. Value of foreign 
exports, $5,648,116 ; receipts of wheat at Portland, 3,027,061 centals, and 
of flour, 403,463 barrels. Wheat and flour exported of the value of $5,- 
599,819. Exports of wool, 8,942,517 pounds, valued at $1,403,758. Ex- 
ports of hops, 3,578,074 pounds, valued at $524,117. A grain fleet of 
eighty-six vessels, registering 92,272 tons, carrying 143,532 short tons 
whe.it and flour, and 245,323 cases salmon. The wholesale trade of the 
•city for 1884, foots up to $40,650,000. The largest valley receipts of 
wheat are from Linn, Marion, Yamhill and Lane counties. Washington, 
Benton, Clackamas and Polk also furnish wheat. Douglas has sent in 
some little. Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook send none to this market. 
Eeceipts from the eastern section are from both Oregon and Washing- 
ton, the later furnishing the larger portion of receipts. Wasco is not 
much of a grain producing county. Umatilla raises a considerable 
quantity, and is a good pioducing county. In Washington, Klickitat 
County consumes the bulk of production at home. Walla Walla, Co- 
lumbia and Whitman furnish the larger part :l WasHngto . s wheat. 
Flour is ground mostly at Salem, Albany, Turner's and > ): L~cn City, in 
the valley, but almost every town has one or more mills that seek a mar- 
ket for part of their product here. The Oregon City mills have been 
idle since last summer. The Portland mill, at Albina, started up early 
in December. Flour classed as standard brand is ground by one mill at 
Albany ; two mills at Salem, one at Turner's, one at Albina and those at 
Oregon City. The mill at Milwaukie is in operation this season. In the 
eastern section the largest grinding is done by mills at Walla Walla, 
Prescott, Echo, Spokane Falls and Dayton. Up to October oats were 
received only from the valley and from Clarke County, W. T., with oc- 



OliEGON AS IT IS. 29 

oasionally some from Puget Sound section. Union County, Oregon, is 
now sending large shipments and, with Baker, promise to send freely in 
the future, although home values have been but half a cent this season. 
Barley comes from all sections, no one county furnishing much, but 
Wasco and Umatilla are increasing their outturn. Millstuff is furnished 
by all mills that send flour. 

A few potatoes come from Wasco county. Hay is almost entirely a 
valley product. Wool comes from all parts, the eastern section last cal- 
endar year furnishing 8,758,000 pounds against 1,520,000 pounds from 
the Willamette Valley. Wasco, Umatilla. Union, Baker and Grant are 
the largest producers, but Washington Territory counties have always 
sent some. In the valley this product is general, the finest grades com- 
ing from the Umpqua Valley, in Lane and Douglas counties. Jackson 
sent more the past year, and the receipts also include a little from the 
extreme north of California. All the southern counties oontain sheep. 
There is a woolen mill at Ashland, one at Oregon City and 
one at Brownsville. Hides come from all parts of Oregon and 
Washington. The eastern section sent very little fruit the past 
year, needing all for home use and eastern shipment. Flaxseed 
is mostly from parts along the Snake River in Eastern Oregon 
and Idaho. Less is being raised compared with three to eight 
years ago, as it must be marketed in San Francisco at small margin of 
profit. Hops are raised in Lane county mostly, although counties this 
side furnish more or less. Valley receipts include arrivals from Puget 
Sound, which constitute by far the most important portion. From the 
eastern sections receipts are almost entirely from Yakima county. Lime 
receipts are from Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands furnishing nearly 
all received. In addition to the articles named we receive all sorts of 
farm products. Very little corn has ever been raised, except in Southern 
Oregon; but recent experiments in the eastern section show that it can 
be grown there. We receive all sorts of fruits that can be raised in this 
climate, grapes mostly coming from Southern Oregon. The orchards of 
Oregon have been largely permitted to care for themselves in late years, 
but the,re is a new movement to improve them. The crop of apples, 
pears, plums and prunes has been heavy, selling at prices that are fair. 

In the character of its public buildings, business blocks, residences, 
churches, newspapers, school buildings, streets, railways, railway offices 
docks, manufacturing establishments, and the like, Portland compares 
favorably with any city in the common country. The growth of the city 
has been steady, and each year confidence in the future is indicated by 
the investment of a large amount of capital in business buildings and 
costly residences. 

There is tributary to Portland an area of country as great, and pros- 
pectively as valuable, as that of the great State of Pennsylvania. It will 



30 OREGON AS IT IS. 

always command the trade of this vast domain. The Willamette valley 
alone is capable, when fully settled, of supporting a large city. It repre- 
sents a body of the finest agricultural land in the country — supplied with 
abundant water power equal in length to a line drawn from Washington 
to Philadelphia, by an average width equal to the distance between 
Washington and Baltimore. If one will reflect for a moment upon the 
wealth of such a body of land in our Eastern States, a picture will be 
presented of what the future has in store for us. 

In addition, we command the trade of the fertile valleys of the Umpqua 
and Rogue rivers in Western Oregon, the seaboard counties, and the 
country lying along the lower Columbia and its tributaries. The Eastern 
Oregon stock regions are also beginning to furnish a trade that must 
grow steadily in extent and value, while the remarkable success that has 
attended the cultivation of lands throughout the "Inland Empire," 
which were formerly thought to be desert and. unproductive, argues well 
for the future of a great wheat, flour and i-tock-raising country. 

Portland, then, bids fair to remain in perpetuity the supply point for 
nearly the entire State of Oregon, for a large part of Washington and for 
portions of Idaho and Northern California. By reason of accumulated 
capital and well-planned lines of transportation, we are also in a posi- 
tion to bid for our share of the trade of Montana, Idaho, Northern 
Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. Our commerce with China, 
Japan and the Sandwich Islands will sooner or later assume large pro- 
portions and build up our shipping interests. The mineral deposits of 
the mountain regions which separate the various bodies of agricultural 
land, within the territory above described, are destined to become a 
source of wealth. 

Among the larger towns and cities in the valley, we have Salem, the 
Capital of the State, about fifty miles from Portland, having a popula- 
tion of about 7,500 people ; Albany, seventy-nine miles from Portland, 
is a beautiful city of 3,000 inhabitants ; Eugene City with about 2,400 
people, is one of the thrifty, enterprising cities of the valley. In south- 
ern Oregon, we have Roseburg, seat of Douglas County, 1,300 people ; 
Jacksonville, seat of Jackson County, 1,200 people ; Ashland in the same 
county, with about 1,400 people ; Grant's Pass, Medford, Oakland and 
other places. On the West side of the river we have Hillsboro with 
about 1,300 people ; Dallas, Polk County, with a population of 1,000 per- 
sons ; McMinnville with about 1,200 people ; Corvallis, a bright, thrify 
city of about 2,000 inhabitants, and a number of other, and smaller towns. 
In the Eastern section of the State we have The Dalles, with a popula- 
tion of about 3,500 ; Baker City, 1,800 ; Pendleton, 2,500 ; Union, 1,000. 
At the mouth of the Columbia we have Astoria, aptly called the Ven- 
ice of America ; a city of some 8,000 people, enterprising, energetic, and 
the seaport town of the State. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 31 

THE TOIRIST I^f OKEGON. 

It is sometimes asked, what have you to offer the tourist and pleasure 
seeking traveler in Oregon? Much. Indeed, Oregon has more than 
her share of pleasant and picturesque summer resorts; places where the 
citizen or the traveler in pursuit of pleasure and recreation will sojourn 
for the season and part with reluctantly. Along a Pacific Ocean 
coast line of nearly 300 miles, and within easy and inexpensive traveling 
distance, of the central portions of the State, we have a score or two of 
these summer resorts, where there is an inspiration in the air, and where 
comforts and conveniences of all kinds may be found, at ordinary rates 
of living. What with variety of pastoral scenery; extent of our forests; 
nobleness of rivers, grandeur of snow-shrouded mountain peaks and 
verdure-clothed hills; richness of color; a flora that is rich beyond com- 
parison ; a fauna that is strange and interesting, and a olimate which for 
serenity and evenness has no equal in America, and all within reach of 
the tourist, there is enough to captivate his fancy, and to lure the inva- 
lid, artist or scientist from chamber, studio or laboratory. It is no wild 
exaggeration or fancy to say, that so far as the scenery of this domain is 
concerned, it is one of the grandest portions of the globe. Nature has 
showered her blessings of this kind with a lavish hand. 

Oregon Trees. 

Doubtless intending settlers will be interested in knowing something 
of the trees growing in this State. Among the most valuable we have 
the spruce, rising to a height of 200 feet, and often 200 inches in diam- 
eter. Then the sugar pine, also very large. Tbe silver pine, common 
pine, black pine, larch, thick-barked cedar, redwood, hemlock, white fir, 
common cedar, vine maple, wild cherry, choke cherry, seamberry or 
squawberry, crab-apple, large-leaved maple, chittimwood or bearberry, 
live oak, myrtle, white oak, black oak, bircn, alder, willow, balm, yew, 
juniper, elder, black haw, service berry, laurel, madrone, Oregon ash and 
manzanita. 

§OOIARIZI1\«. 

The intending immigrant, whether he comes from the overcrowded 
districts of our States, or from the old country, has only to study through 
these pages to ascertain just what this state has to offer him. What he 
reads is accurate and wholly trustworthy in every particular; and is 
easily substantiated by facts here on the ground. If he comes here to 
farm in a general way, to raise stock, to mine, to establish new industries, 
he will find just the surroundings and inducements he has in view. 
Our lands with their productiveness will reward him as a farmer. Ev- 
erything in the way of soil and climate, market and transportation will 
meet his views. Here is a broad open field of occupation for those who 
toil for a competency. If he is a tradesman and has a little capital, here 



32 OREGON AS IT 18. 

is a wide field for him to choose from. If he seeks Government, or rail- 
way, or State lands, now is the time to come and make his selection. 
Each season the limits of such lands are narrowing, and localities near 
towns and railways settling up. With a State offering the potent in- 
ducements of an equable climate, an unmatched soil, splendid timber 
land, the best of water in natural streams and in wells, the highest 
grade of educational institutions, a dominaut church interest, conven- 
ient markets, the permanent population of this part of Oregon, com- 
posed as it is of the best material, will most cordially welcome that in 
immigration which will add to the moral, social and financial status, to 
the force that is to develop the limitless resources of this vast domain. 
Immigration that will be materially felt in this direction will be most 
welcome. There is neither welcome nor room in Oregon for wit-living 
representatives or the man whose lack of perseverence and energy ren- 
ders him dissatisfied with even the best natural locations, and whose 
motto is "Further on." That sort of a "poor man" is of no practical 
value. He need not apply. It might be well to add here that just now 
the inducements for professional men, mechanics or laboring men, un- 
less they come supplied with money to create for themselves opportuni- 
ties for employment, are not such as will warrant their coming. During 
the last two years there has been a steady increase in the number of 
these classes, and they have fully occupied the field, for the present at 
least. For the capitalist or the farmer there is room and a cordial wel- 



OREGO.H «Y COUNTIES. 
Western Oregon 

Comprises that part of the State bounded on the North by the Colum- 
bia Eiver, on the South by the Calapooia spur which unites the Coast 
and Cascade ranges, East, by the Cascade range, and West by the Paci- 
fic ocean. This area contains about 5,000,000 acres. Not only do the 
physical features and characteristics of Western Oregon make it to the 
eye of the tourist an attractive country, but no section of America affords 
a better proportion of timber, water, meadow, up-land and plain lands 
for the use of mixed husbandry. Certainly no where else on the conti- 
nent has nature more lavishly combined the elements of beauty and 
utility, and left so little for man to complete in order to realize his ideal 
of an earthly abiding place. In all portions of Western Oregon the set- 
tler finds a gently rolling surface, with a soil of exhaustless fertility, and 
quite all of the conditions he would have chosen in creating a home. 
That any one should search further can only be ascribed to that sense- 
less and unappeasable rage of going somewhere else. 

At Portland, which is at once the gateway or vestibule into this grand 
section of country, the immigrant enters upon a stretch of territory em- 
bracing, perhaps, the largest body of continuous rich land on the conti- 



OREGON AS IT IS. 33 

nent. As we have said, he will hud it rich iu all that pertains to agri- 
cultural resources, in its cultivated and uncultivated lands, and no mat- 
ter at what day or week or season of the year he comes upon it. there will 
be no uncomforable suspicion that it is a little too near the north or the 
south pole, and he will never, under any circumstances, have to become 
an apologist for the weather, nor burdened with any responsibility for its 
unseasonable peculiarities. 

MULTNOMAH 

County, of which Portland is the seat, has no very extensive area of 
farming land, though all, at all susceptible of cultivation, is exceedingly 
rich soil ; the best grades of bottom land, suitable for gardeniug and 
dairy purposes. Most of the land in Multnomah County is heavily tim- 
bered. Along the Columbia River there are some very tine farms and 
farming lands, and perhaps no land in the State is more profitably 
worked. Much of this land is in the market, and the immigrant with 
means may very happily locate himself. In the hill lands south and west 
of the city there are some excellent lands for small farming, chicken 
ranches and the like. The city furnishes a continuously good market 
for everything produced. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

Adjoins Multnomah on the West, and at one time both were known as 
Washington, Multnomah having been created out of Washington. It is, 
like the rest of the valley counties, an agricultural section, and has some 
of the finest farms in the State, which are stocked with thoroughbred 
horses and cattle. Washington County is not as extensive as some of 
the other valley counties, but fully as productive. Like most of the valley 
counties it has been of late years almost wholly devoted to wheat growing. 
These matters have changed somewhat recently, and a more diversified 
system of farming has supplanted the old way of doing things. In the 
course of a few years Washington County will furnish Portland markets 
with a large share of fruit, and dairy products. The principal town in 
the county is Hillsboro, the county seat, while Cornelius and Forest 
Grove, all within a distance of six miles, are busy places. Cornelius is 
one of the best wheat-shipping points on the Oregon Central railroad, 
while Forest Grove receives much of its support from the excellent 
school at that place, under charge of the Congregational denomination. 
It is one of the oldest institutions of learning in our State, and has many 
of its graduates scattered over the northwest. There are other towns of 
minor importance in the county. Tualatin, Beaverton, Middleton, Gas- 
ton, Greenville, and Glencoe— all good business points. The towns are 
all supported from the agricultural resources of the county, as there are 
no manufacturing enterprises of note in operation. In Washington 
County there are many cultivated farms offered for sale, in whole or in 
part, and some considerable land open for settlement. 



34 OREGON AS IT IS. 

CLACKAMAS COUNTY. 

This county joins Multnomah on the south, and has an area of about 
1500 square miles. It is one of the oldest settled counties in the State. 
About three-quarters of the 1,054,000 acres iD Clackamas county may be 
classed as agricultural land of the best grade. There is about 325,000 
acres of this county that has passed into private hands. There is about 
50,000 acres of this amount that is owned by the Oregon and California 
Railroad Company. There is probably about 22,000 acres of school 
lands in this county now owned by the State of Oregon. This would 
make the amount of land that has already passed from the control of 
the General Government into the hands of the State and private indi- 
viduals 340,000 acres. 

This last amount deducted from the number of acres of land in Clack- 
amas county would leave in the hands of the General Government about 
700,000 acres, of which amount there is at least 350,000 acres that is 
well adapted to settlement, and, when once put in cultivation, will be 
fully equal to many of the older settled places of the county. The last 
named amount of land is subject to homestead and pre-emption settle- 
• ment. The aggregate valuation of all property in this county, for the year 
1884, real and personal, is about $3,000,000. The State tax for said year 
was five and a half mills on the dollar; county tax, ten mills on the dol- 
lar ; public school tax, three mills on the dollar. On almost every quar- 
ter seation of land living water of pure, limpid quality is found, 

Some portions there are heavily timbered, yet there are large traots 
where the timber is not thick or dense. The land may properly 
be called hilly, some portions quite broken. The timber most common 
is fir, of the several varieties (red, white and yellow). Along the streams 
cedar, ash and maple abound. In the mountain spruce, hemlock and 
larch are found. As will be seen from the above list, the prevailing for- 
est trees are resinous and evergreen, some of which grow to the height 
of 300 or 400 feet, and from 8 to 12 feet in diameter. 

Oregon City, the county seat, situated at the falls of the Willamette 
River, is healthful and has a water-power unsurpassed in the known 
world. A view of these falls may be seen on page 2 of this book. 

Iron ore is found on both banks of the Willamette River between Ore- 
gon City and Portland, also in various other parts of the county in prac- 
tically unlimited quantity. 

Limestone and coal are also found along the foothills of the Cascade 
Mountains. The limestone is of a fair quality. 

While the Willamette and Clackamas swarm with salmon, the brooks 
and creeks are full of the smaller fish, of which the most desirable, 
as well as the most abundant, is the far-famed speckled trout. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 35 

MAKION COUNTT 

Is on the east side of the Willamette River, and south of Clackamas. It 
is the first in the list of agricultural counties. It is bounded on the 
north by the Willamette Eiver and Butte Creek, which separates it 
from Clackamas County; on the east by Clackamas County and the Cas- 
cade Mountains, which separate it from Wasco County; on the north by 
the Santiam River and the North Fork of the Santiam, separating it from 
Linn County; and on the west by the Willamette River. Rich in its 
agricultural resources, in its cultivated and uncultivated lands, in its 
water powers and minerals: rich in its colleges and schools of learning, 
and a olimate uusurpassed for its salubrity, it presents to the immigrant 
from the overcrowded States, who comes to the Coast with some means, 
superior advantages. The productiveness of the soil is marvelous to 
those who are accustomed to the small crops of the East. With good 
cultivation, forty bushels of wheat to the acre can be readily secured. A 
large percentage of that grown is white wheat, and the berry is large 
and plump, often weighing sixty-four pounds to the measured bushel. 
Fruits of all kinds that grow in the temperate zones are at home here. 

There are two main divisions, the mountain and the valley. The latter 
extends from the Willamette River to the foot of the Cascade Mountains, 
a distance of about fifteen miles. 

The mountainous portion contains some fourteen townships of mostly 
unsurveyed land, lying in a strip twelve miles uorth and south by forty 
miles east and west, and comprises all classes of land, from rich narrow 
valleys in the passes, up through all the grades of rolling, hilly and 
broken, to that of rock-bound canyons and inaccessable craggy peaks. 
It is generally heavily timbered, and in the near future will be valuable 
for its lumber supplies. Beyond the bottom the land rises in some 
places gradually, in others abruptly some fifty feet, and extends for a 
distance of fifteen miles to the south in a level plain. There is generally 
a skirting of timber land on the edge of the plain, from one to fiwo 
miles in width; then it opens out into - a low level prairie. The entire 
county is splendidly watered. 

As a stock county, Marion is good. Horses, cattle, sheep and swine 
are almost free from disease, and the mildness of the climate and pro- 
ductiveness of the soil renders their raising a matter of comparatively 
little expense. 

Land in Marion County can be purchased at prices varying from $4.50 
to $30 per acre. The cheap lands, however, are in the foothill portions 
of the county, and requires considerable labor to bring into profitable 
cultivation. The valley lands can be purchased for $10 per acre up- 
wards. An immigrant with means can find land to suit him in the county 
at not unreasonable figures. 

The tax levy for the current year is fourteen mills, being lower than 
any other county in the State. 



36 OREGON AS IT IS. 

The Willamette Biver, with two lines of railroad running the entire 
length of the county from north to south, gives the producer and mer- 
chant ample facilities to reach Portland markets. 

Salem, the Capital of the State, is in this coimty, and is the most 
handsomely laid out town in the State. The private and public build- 
ings reflect great credit upon its citizens, and give evidence of the confi- 
dence which the people have in the' future of the place. 

The trade of the county is divided with the various towns, the princi- 
pal one being Gervias, which has grown up since 1870. Silverton, on 
the Narrow Gauge Eailroad, has long been one of the principal business 
points in the county outside of Salem, and since the construction of the 
railroad it has improved very rapidly. We have also Jefferson, Marion, 
Turner, Brooks, Woodburn, Aurora and Hubbard, on the Oregon and 
California Bailroad. Aurora was originally settled by a German colony, 
and has become one of the most active and business-like points in the 
county. We also have, on the Willamette Biver, St. Louis, St. Paul, 
Champoeg, Fairfield, Butteville and Wilsonville, while Stayton is on the 
Narrow Gauge Bailroad. 

The water-power of Salem is the best in the State. Salem homes are, 
as a general thing, well spread out, the lots being usually 621-2x125 feet 
large, giving them attractive lawns and fertile garden spots. To those 
who desire a most healthful and pleasant climate, with fine lands at 
prices as above, Marion county offers them superior inducements ; or if 
they seek a locality for fruit growing, for stock raising, for a dairy busi- 
ness, for lumbering or flouring mills, or for any other branch of industry 
or manufacturing, this county offers extraordinary advantages. 

YAMHILL COUNTY. 

The land of this county, and the inducements to immigrants, are 
among the best in the State. It lies south of Washington, and between 
the Coast Bange and the Willamette Biver. It is an agricultural county. 
It is one of the most thickly settled counties in the State, and to-day has 
within its boundaries more of the early pioneers than any other. It is 
connected with Portland by river and railroad facilities, and has better 
transportation facilities to market, as a whole, than any county in the 
State. The Yamhill Biver and Willamette are both at its command, 
while it has the Oregon Central and narrow gauge running through dif- 
ferent parts of the rich agricultural section. 

The surface of Yamhill is, in the main, gently rolling, the hills, to 
their very summits, producing magnifioent crops of wheat, which, for 
excellence of quality, is not surpassed anywhere in the world. Yamhill 
has more pasture land than Washington, and much more stock, but the 
latter is not of such high grade. Wheat and stock raising are the chief 
industries. As a people, the residents of Yamhill are unusually pros- 
perous. In no other county is the average of wealth so great. There 



OREGON AS IT IS. 37 

are in Yamhill at least fifty farmhouses with all the modern conveniences, 
and, in fact, all the luxuries of city homes. Houses costing $5000 and 
upwards are common throughout the county, and well built and filled 
barns attest the general thrift. Schools are maintained in every district. 
There is some land open for settlement in this county, and the new- 
comer will have no difficulty in getting improved laud at what he is 
likely to consider extremely reasonable rates. 

Lafayette is the county seat, which is located on the banks of the 
Yamhill, about fifteen miles from the Willamette, and the narrow gauge 
railroad runs through the town, and is but- two miles from the Oregon 
Central Railroad. 

MeMinnville is the principal town in the county, located on the Yam- 
hill River, and also ou the Oregon Central Railroad. It is a beautiful 
little town, surrounded, like Lafayette, with the finest of agricultural 
lands. The McMinnville College, an old and very excellent establish- 
ment, is located here and has a large number of students, whose pres- 
ence gives the town a very pleasant social activity. 

Dayton is a river poiut, and the terminus on the Yamhill River of the 
narrow gauge railroad, which runs through the southern part of Yam- 
hill county and the northern part of Polk. It differs not from any other 
points in its vicinity, beiug the seat of a steady local trade. 

Amity and the various other points are thrifty local centers. 

HHN COUNTY. 

This comity joins Marion on the south. Although not one of the 
largest in the State, is, in fact, the seventh in size. It is 300 square miles 
larger than the State of Delaware. It is twice as large as Rhode Island, 
and more than half as large as Massachusetts. Agriculturally speak- 
ing, it is one of the finest counties in the State. It is bounded on the 
north by the Santiam River, which separates it from Marion county ; on 
the east by the Central ridge of the Cascade Mountains, which abound 
in inexhaustible forests of the finest fir, pine, spruce, hemlock and cedar, 
and contains untold wealth in the form of mines of lead, cinnabar, silver 
and gold ; on the south by Lane county, and on the west by the Willam- 
ette River, which is navigable from Portland to Albany, the county seat 
of the county, the whole year round. 

The eastern portion of the county includes the western slope of the 
Cascade Mountains, which gently descend into a very fertile range of 
foothills, well adapted to agriculture, fruit growing and stock raising. 

The farms among these foothills generally yield from twenty-five to 
forty and fifty bushels to the acre of the finest wheat in the world. The 
occupation of the people in this region is chiefly farming, stock raising 
and lumbering. The many streams flowing in from the mountains, and 
the rich forests of timber standing on their banks, make it almost possi- 
ble to erect and successfully operate a sawmill on nearly every section 
of land. 



38 OEEGON AS IT IS. 

Most of the prairie laud in Linn county, and, iu fact, all the land in 
the neighborhood of the railroad, is in the hands of individuals who ask 
high prices from $15 to $30 per acre: but there are tine locations in the 
foothills which may be taken up at the cheap State and Government rate 
under the land laws or bought from the railroad company. The lands 
in question are of four classes — government, railroad, state and uni- 
versity — and they may be obtained cheaply and on easy terms. It is 
finely watered by many streams all through it. 

The county being in close proximity to two mountain ranges, its 
climate is mild and delightful both in winter or summer. On any of 
the land in this county are produced in great abundance apples, plums, 
prunes, strawberries, cherries, blackberries, pears, and in places peaches 
and grapes are produced in immense quantities. 

The strip of foothills varies from ten to fifteen miles in width and in 
extent the entire distance across the country from north to south. Eun- 
ning along parallel, and in close proximity to this range of hills, is a 
line of railroad called the Oregonian Railway (limited). It is a narrow- 
gauge, and affords ample means for travel and transportation. This 
strip of country is very healthy, and such things as chills and fevers are 
rarely if ever known there. 

The remaining portion of the county, lying west of the foothill coun- 
try and bounded on the west by the Willamette river, is mostly prairie 
land. The population of the county is about 16,000. Any man of small 
or large means can locate in Linn county to good advantage, and be 
surrounded by a good class of people, have the best of schools, all social 
and church privileges. Albany, a city of 3,000 people, is a bus^ city. 
Brownsville, Lebanon, Halsey and Harrisburg are thriving towns, each 
with its share of local business. The Brownsville Woolen Mill is one of 
the best manufacturing establishments in the state. 

LANE COUNTY 

Lies south of and adjoins Linn County. From the ocean to the Cascade 
range across this county it is 120 miles. The county embraces 120 town- 
ships, two-thirds of which land is susceptible of the highest cultivation. 
It is a rich county, and one of the best in the State. Its industries are 
confined to farming and stock-raising. The agricultural lands are un- 
surpassed in their fertility, while the rolling hills are luxuriant pastures 
for the many cattle and sheep. A considerable portion of the county is 
rough and mountainous, but even its highest points are available for 
pasturage, which is green and good the whole year through. Hops and 
wheat are the chief products of the county. Wool, too, is grown, but 
not hi such quantity as would naturally be expected in a country so well 
adapted for sheep. The opportunities for enterprise in this line are 
fine. Good sheep ranches may be bought cheap, and the outside range' 
to be had for nothing, is as wide as could be desired. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 39 

An important and rich section of Lane county lies along the coast. 
The Sins] aw River, a fine stream, puts into the ocean at the western ex- 
treme of the county, and along its valleys there are large tracts of ex- 
cellent land. About fifty families have settled there within the past five 
years, and the section is oertain, in a short time, to become well popula- 
ted. The Siuslaw river is easily entered by schooners. 

Lane County offers a field for more varied industry than any other of 
the western Oregon counties. The grain farmer, the stock-raiser, the 
wool-grower, the hop-grower, the lumberman, the dairyman and a score 
of others find tlie conditions of their various occupations at hand ; while 
the comparative cheapness of land, its fine character and a climate some- 
what more genial than that of the northern counties, are potent induce- 
ment^. The county is gradually receiving an excellent olass of new- 
comers, and as a consequence, business of every kind is prosperous. 

Eugene City the comity seat, is located about the center of the county, 
and was founded by that old and much respected pioneer, Eugene F. 
Skinner, who first settled on the place in 1845, and died there in 1865. 
The town is surrounded by hills on each side, the grandest and most beau- 
tiful being Spencer Butte, which stands about six miles southwest of the 
t( >\vn. It is a healthy place, most beautifully located, and has prospered 
in the past and kept pace with the advancement of the State. It has the 
constant attractions of cheerful and beautiful scenery, and of location 
near the river ; and during the summer months it enjoys the wholesome 
" ventilation" of the ocean breeze. Its streets are regularly laid out, and 
are better shaded than those of any other city in the State, The State 
University is the chief distinction of Eugene and a great feature in its 
social life. From it the place tales a high moral and intellectual tone 
and this is an advantage it will always enjoy." The population of Eu- 
gene City is about 1,600, and its business is that of a thrifty country 
oenter. 

BENTON COUNTY. 

This county is sixty miles wide and forty long, extending east and west 
from the Willamette Eiver to the Pacific Ocean. It contains 1110 square 
miles of area, and has a population of about 9000. Its eastern third is 
level alternate prairie and light black land, and the remainder is tim- 
bered hill land, admirably adapted for pasture. The level land of Ben- 
ton is almost exactly like the level lands of the other westside counties. 
It is well watered and timbered, rich in soil — in short, a farmer's para- 
dise. It is thickly settled, and has been for many years, and its princi- 
pal product is wheat. Stock, vegetables, fruit, etc., are grown here as in 
Yamhill and Polk, but not as an independent and special crop. The 
western or coast section of Benton is a fine stock country, but it is 
scarcely occupied at all. The hills, originally covered with dense forests, 
have been burned over, and are now comparatively open. The debris of 



40 OREGON AS IT IS. 

the burned trees rests and has enriched the soil to a highly productive 
state, and peculiarly adapted it for the various "tame" grasses. The 
hills are seamed with creek and river bottoms, which yield hay, or, in 
fact, anything planted, in great abundance. The climate is a softened, 
open climate, and the extremes of heat and cold are not known. Snows 
are rare, and never lie on the ground more than two days together. Ben- 
ton has a fair share of coast country, and a natural harbor at Yaquina 
Bay. Its western part, particularly the Yaquina country, is rapidly till- 
ing up with immigrants. 

The price of land varies from $1.25 per acre (Government price) to 
$30, according to locality; but good farms, well improved, can be bought 
at $10, $12, $15 and $20 per acre. The number of farms in the county 
is about 1000: the value of the improved land over $180,000; the value 
of the farms and improvements, including buildings and fences, $3,300,- 
900; the value of all farm productions for the year last past, about 
$850,000. 

The leading industries of the county are farming and stock raising. 
The yield of wheat generally is about twenty-five bushels to the acre, 
that of oats about forty. The surplus of wheat shipped from the county 
last year was about 300,000 bushels. Corvallis is the county seat, a 
bright, thrifty city of about 2000 people. It is pleasantly situated on 
the west bank of the Willamette Biver, on a beautiful plateau, one and 
a half miles wide, entirely above high water. For beautiful location, 
healthfulness, even temperature of climate and pure water, it is not 
equaled in the State. It is the head of navigation on the Willamette 
Biver, except at a very high stage of water. It is the present terminus 
of the Oregon and California Bailroad, western division, being ninety- 
seven miles from Portland. It is also the present terminal point of the 
road running from Yaquina Bay to the east. Educational facilities are 
very good. The State Agricultural College, with a full complement of 
efficient teachers, is situated at this place, and in addition there are two 
district schools that are well sustained. The town is well supplied with 
chu ' s, and the morals of the community are good. 

Philomath is a thriving place seven miles west of Corvallis, on the 
line of the Oregon Pacific Bailroad, situated in a beautiful and healthy 
location, and surrounded by intelligent, wealthy farmers, who feel proud 
of Philomath College, an institution of learning in their midst, under 
the control of the United Brethren Church. 

Newport is also a thriving place, situated near the seacoast, in the most 
westerly portion of Benton County, on the Yaquina Bay. 

POLK COUNTY 

Lies south of Yamhill county, and, like it, is located between the Willa- 
mette Biver and the Coast Bange. It has an area of about thirty town- 
ships, equally divided between level and rolling land. It is admirably 



OKEGON AS IT IS. 41 

watered and timbered. The Luokianrate River, a tributary of the Willa- 
mette, is navigable for small steamers, and there are many other streams 
besides, which would supply an almost unlimited water power to saw and 
flouring mills. The West Side Division of the Oregon and California Rail- 
road traverses the county. Not far from half the county is timber land, 
ash, maple, fir, spruce and hemlock being the chief varieties, although 
there is a great deal of white oak as well. 

Its eastern half is occupied by fine farms, is among the best developed 
sections in the State. Polk is a farming county, and its industries are 
all incidental to the business of farming. There is some stock raising, 
but it is carried on as part of a general business. Almost every farmer 
has a few head of cattle and horses and sheep. Much attention is paid 
to blood, one of the finest bands of sheep in the State being on the hill 
range south and west of Dallas. The eastern or hilly section of Polk is 
covered with fine hard wood and fir trees, which, with the growing de- 
mand for lumber, must soon become valuable. The hilly land also 
affords fine range, and is specially adapted for sheep and pasturage. 
There is not a distinctive fruit farm in Polk County, or, in fact, but one 
in all the west side counties. Each farmer has from one to five acres of 
orchard, which receives but little care. Apples, pears, and small fruits 
grow well, however, and now that railroads have made it possible to 
market fruit in the fresh state, more attention will be paid to fruit 
culture. 

The products of the county arc wheat, potatoes, oats, hops, cattle, 
hogs, wool and flour. Apples, pears, plums, cherries, and all sorts of 
berries yield bounteously. There is still much good land to be had at 
prices for unimproved varying from $4.50 to $10 per acre. Dallas, the 
county seat, is about fifteen miles west of the Willamette River at Salem, 
and is a sprightly inland town of 1000 or more inhabitants. Its busi- 
ness is that of a large farming center, the various branches of merchan- 
dise being represented by general and graded stores. It has several 
very substantial brick buildings and a number of really very handsome 
residences. Good churches and schools maintain a high educational 
and moral standard. Independence is on the Willamette River, and is 
a rival of Dallas for the honors and advantages of the county seat. Its 
location on the line of the Oregon and California Railroad and on the 
river gives it special advantage as a shipping point, and attracts to it a 
great share of the grain of the country. Independence handles at least 
one-third of the wheat grown in Polk County, and is the center of a 
large trade. It has improved more in the last five years than any other 
town in Western Oregon, this improvement being due to advantage of 
location and to the enterprise of its business men, who leave no effort 
untried which promises welfare to their town. Monmouth is considera- 
bly smaller than either Dallas or Independence, and is a quiet " school 



42 OREGON AS IT IS. 

town.'' It enjoys, however, h steady business from farmers near at hand. 
Christian College is located here, and attracts attendance from all parts 
of the State. 

CLATSOP COUNTY 

Is the northwestern county of the State. The best farms in Clatsop 
county are located on Clatsop Plains, though the nature of the soil is not 
favorable to the production of the cereals, other than wheat. Clatsop 
county is twenty miles long and has an average width of thirty miles. 
Its soil is a light loam and sand, easily cultivated and highly productive. 
Its climate is the ordinary climate of Western Oregon in Winter, with a 
constant moisture in Summer, which keeps its pastures always green. 
Everywhere it is well watered, and timber in abundance borders the 
eastern margin. The chief industry of Clatsop Plains is that of butter 
and cheese manufacture. In no locality in the world are the conditions 
for dairying more fortunate than here. An unfailing verdure, a cool and 
equable climate, rich native grasses, abundance of pure, fresh water, 
nearness to market, all the conditions are here in perfection and all made 
highly valuable by constant demand and high prices for dairy products. 

Along the tide lands and creek bottoms, mentioned above, there are 
large settlements, and all are prosperous. The conditions of life in 
these localities are not luxurious, but they are by no means hard for 
those who have industry. Travel everywhere is by water, and settlers 
go by steamboats, or in their own boats, propelled by sail or oar. Com- 
munication with the market town of Astoria is cheap- and easy, and the 
residents think themselves better or! than those who must get to market 
by road or rail. The products of the country are the general agricul- 
tural products of Western Oregon. In no county in the State is there 
such variety of employment for the wage-worker. It is estimated that 
a million and a half dollars is paid out annually for labor in fishing and 
logging. It is a common thing for immigrants to settle upon Govern- 
ment land, which may be had for the taking, and to work in the fisheries 
in Summer, or the logging camps in Winter, the while making such im- 
provements on their settlements as they can. To clear a place in the 
timber is the work of half a life-time, but it may be done by degrees at 
a comparatively light cost. For dairying— and in this branch we be- 
lieve the opportunities are more inviting than in any other —it is not 
necessary to clear the land. If it be burned over thoroughly, and grass 
seed sown in the ashes, it yields fine green crops, which cattle easily 
harvest for themselves. Being near the coast, snows are infrequent, and 
never lie longer than a few hours. 

The mountain lands of Clatsop county (and three-fourths of the county 
is mountainous), are chiefly valuable for their splendid forests. Astoria 
is at the mouth of the Columbia, and the central figure in the salmon 
fishing feature of the Northwest. It has a most healthful climate, and 



OREGON AS IT IS. 43 

is sometimes called (and appropriately enough' the Venice of America. 
It is the favorite Summer resort of the j eople of Western Oregon. It is 
always in possession of a delightful sea-breeze, and the hills in the vicin- 
ity are covered almost from base to dome with architectural groupings 
of earlier days aud more modern progress. The more even portion of 
the city is adorned with comfortable and well constructed homes, that 
bespeak comfort, culture and refined taste of their owners and occu- 
pants. The future holds out bright promises for our city by the sea. 

Crafts of every description ply the broad Columbia, being the only 
means of transportation from and to the surrounding districts of Oregon 
and Washington Territory. Nature has done more for the Venice of the 
Northwest than any other point on the river, and it is only a question of 
time when manufacturing industries will take advantage of this splendid 
location. 

TILLAMOOK COUNTY 

Is a narrow strip along the south boundary of Clatsop County. It is 
about seventy-five miles long by thirty wide. It is one of the isolated 
counties of Oregon and is rather sparcely settled. A schooner freight 
line has been put into service between the markets of Portland and 
Astoria, and the trip is now easily and quickly made, and rates for 
freight and passage are low. 

The country is finely adapted to general farming, stock raising and 
dairying, and the land is literally "dirt cheap." Two bays easily ap- 
proached from the ocean afford ample port facilities, and numerous 
small rivers and inlets make transportation cheap and easy. We do not 
believe that any section of Oregon offers better advantages to the settler 
of small means than Tillamook County. The country is new, and little 
has been done in the way of school house and church building, but the 
soil is rich and cheap, and the market is not very difficult. 

The timber of Tillamook County will be a source of great wealth 
when it shall be made use of, and that can not be long delayed. 

COLUMBIA COUNTY. 

This county hugs the Columbia River, which is its western boundary. 
It is a mountainous region in its eastern half. But there is a very large 
domain along the river, embracing some of the richest lands in the 
State. For fifty miles north from the foot of Sauvie's Island, along the 
river, the country is wooded, but not wholly with the dense forest 
growth seen in passing up and down on the boats, and which seems to 
extend inland indefinitely. Each of the many creeks which find their 
way into the Columbia drains a wide area of bottom land, generally 
overgrown with ash or maple, and the higher lands, which no where rise 
into mountainous dignity, are fertile and easily susceptible of cultiva- 
tion. These lands are not attractive to general immigrants from prairie 
districts, but they exactly meet the taste of comers from timbered coun- 



44 OEEGON AS IT IS. 

tries. It costs more to get a farm under way there than in a prairie dis- 
trict; but there are many who deem the special expense more than com- 
pensated by the advantages of location in ; timbered region and near 
water transportation to market. The lands in this river district ought 
to be public, but they have been gobbled by speculators till nearly every 
foot is owned. The greater part of it is for sale at about double the 
Government price, or $4 per acre. They yield fruit and vegetables in 
abundance, and are finely adapted for dairying. 

Aside from farming and stock raising and the general tradeswork nec- 
essary in every community, the chief industry is logging. The heaviest 
logs are easily floated down the creeks in the wet season, and nearly 
every farmer is, to a greater or less extent, a logger also. Millions of 
feet of timber.are floated out each year, and the proceeds of its sale are 
largely applied to the development of the country. The logging indus- 
try, while it cuts down the timber, helps clear the land, leaving it avail- 
able for the all-the-year-round pasture even before the stumps and small 
growths are removed. Logging progresses at all seasons and affords 
steady employment to all who choose to work at it for wages. Many 
settlers put in such time as they can there in opening their farms, and 
earn their maintenance in the logging camp. Another industry which 
engages men of small capital and rewards them fairly, is that of making 
shingles. Ther* are, too, a few portable saw-mills which with the labor 
of three or four men can cut three or four thousand feet of cedar per 
day. The resources of this section in iron, coal, and water power, are 
sufficiently well known, and in the course of time things will, without 
doubt, be developed. Columbia County possesses advantages fully equal 
to those of any county in the State, either for the capitalist or the man 
of small means. As a dairy and market garden country it can not be 
excelled, and its proximity to Portland, coupled with cheap and ade- 
quate freight, facilities, particularly adapt it for these purposes. St. 
Helen, Eanier, Wer tport and Columbia City are the chief towns. 

DOUGLAS COUNTY 

Lies in the extreme southern portion of what we denominate Western 
Oregon. No region is more pleasantly situated, and no soil in the State 
is better adapted to diversified farming. The soil is prolific, of a deep, 
rich vegetable loam, and produces a fairly wonderful growth of grains, 
fruits and vegetables. The mineral wealth of the hill portions of Doug- 
las County probably equals if it does not exceed that of any other county 
in the State. This and the neighboring county of Jackson produce 
great crops of corn. A large portion of the vast territory embraced 
within this county remains unsettled and unsurveyed, and nearlv all of 
it will be valuable, either for timber, agriculture or grazing. East of 
Roseburg is a vast section of country undeveloped, and we might add, 
unexplored, as but little is known of it. The Smith River country, lying 



OREGON AS IT IS. 45 

north and west of Drain station, is, perhaps, the best part of the unset- 
tled portion of the county. The river heads in the mountains, some fif- 
teen miles due north of the town of Draiu, and flows nearly due west and 
empties into the bay or inlet at the mouth of the Cmpqua, two miles be- 
low the town of Scottsburg. The east fork, some five or six miles above 
its junction, flows through a beautiful level plain; from one-half to two 
miles wide on either side of the stream, with small fir timber near its 
banks, showing that the country has once been a burn. The land close 
to the banks of the stream is higher than back near the hills, where nu- 
merous prairies of swamp grass, with scarce any timber, abound, some 
of them contaiuing from fifty to one hundred acres in a place, which, to 
make them first-class farming lands, need nothing but a drain to the 
river. From the forks down to tide water, a distance of eighteen or 
twenty miles, the bottoms on each side are similar, save that the growth 
of timber is larger. Considerable logging has been done on the lower 
part of the stream. The foot-hills, or bench land next to the bottoms, 
are covered for nearly the entire length of the river with a heavy growth 
of large fir timber of the best quality. The drifts have been cleared out 
so that saw logs can be floated the entire length of the stream. There 
are numerous small streams flowing from the mountains on either side 
of the river, with bottoms in many places sufficiently wide to make good 
farms. Within the last year a number of persons have settled on the 
east fork of this river, and are about to commence building a wagon 
road from Drain across the mountains to their settlement, which will, in 
time, be extended down the river to tide water. 

The Umpqua River runs its whole length through Douglas County, 
and in its valleys are found the best farming lands of the county. The 
general charactar of Douglas County is rolling, and it affords for sheep 
the finest range in the world. Not even the famous highlands of Scot- 
land are better adapted for the production of fine and firm wools. The 
climate is somewhat dryer and warmer than that of the northern coun- 
ties, and all the conditions of range are favorable. So marked is the su- 
periority of the Umpqua Valley wool that it has always been a favorite 
in the market, and brings from two to six cents per pound more than the 
ordinary wools of the country. The flocks of the Umpqua Valley form a 
large feature of its wealth, but the free public range would easily sup- 
port ten sheep for every one now upon it. 

Nearly every farmer keeps a flock, principally of Merino stock, and in 
the lower Umpqua the animals are held only for their wool, and not used 
for mutton. In 1880, Douglas County shipped 1,000,000 pounds of wool 
and drove 55,000 sheep into Nevada. 

Fruits of all the temperate kinds grow well in the Umpqua Valley, as 
elsewhere in Western Oregon. There are some fine patohes of timber 
in all parts of the county, and along the coast there are magnificent for- 
ests of fir and spruce. 



46 OREGON AS IT IS. 

The chief town of Douglas County is Boseburg, which is near its cen- 
ter and on the line of the O. & C. B. B. For some years Eoseburg was 
the southern terminus of the road, but it was extended last year and 
with its terminal character, Eoseburg lost much of its Southern Oregon 
trade. A railroad to connect Eoseburg with the coast part of Coos Bay, 
is projected, and this will certainly add largely to its importance. The 
population of Eoseburg is about 1300 ; Oakland, Drain's, Empire City, 
Scottsburg and Gardiner are thrifty towns in this county. 

SOUTHERN OREGON. 

Coos, Curry, Josephine. Jackson and Lake Counties form Southern 
Oregon. There are three distinct sections of country and climate in 
Southern Oregon, and the whole is distinct in a marked degree from the 
other natural divisions of the State. The climate of Southern Oregon 
is warmer in winter and cooler in summer than either Western or East- 
ern Oregon, and is especially adapted to perfection in fruits and vegeta- 
bles. It is between the extreme drouth of California and the wet season 
of Western Oregon. Taken as a whole, Southern Oregon is one of the 
healthiest places on the globe. The land of Southern Oregon lying on 
the coast is rough and mountainous, and for the most part heavily tim- 
bered, and has the moist climate of coast lines. The middle section is 
rich valley land, and the climate is warmer and less moist. 

JACKSON COUNTY 

Is one of the largest in the State, and can hardly be excelled for fine 
scenery, productions of soil, wealth and good climate. The county is 
rich in minerals, and heretofore, with the exception of wool, the products 
of the county have mainly been consumed by the miners and local popu- 
lation. Its area is over 2000 square miles, but the greater part of its sur- 
face is mountainous. Its principal productive section is the Eogue Biver 
Valley, which is fifty miles long, with an average width of fifteen miles. 
Agriculture is well in progress in this valley and in various other smaller 
valleys in the county, but as there has never been any means of trans- 
portation, it has been limited to supplying the local demand. But this 
is greater than in any other part of the country, owing to the extensive 
local mining operations. Nearly 4000 men are now employed at mining 
in this county, and the output of the precious metals has been satisfac- 
tory and comparatively large. The output has aggregated about $180,- 
000 annually. While this output is growing larger each season, other 
industries are reaching to the fore, and mining will fall several ranks 
and general farming, including fruit growing, which, as stated above, is 
still in its infancy, are now more important interests than mining, and 
stock raising will soon be equal to either. The rough foothill lands of 
Jackson county afford fine range, and the stock interest is constantly 



OREGON AS IT IS. 47 

growing. With commendable enterprise, the people have imported good 
blood in both horses and cattle, and some of the finest stock in the State 
is to be found here. 

Fruit most distinguishes this county. Peaohes, grapes and the whole 
list of general and small fruits yield in the highest excellence of size and 
flavor. Hitherto little attention has been paid to fruit production be- 
cause there has been no way of getting it to market, but the Oregon and 
California Railroad, which has just reached the valley, opens up the 
Portland and, in fact, the Eastern market, and now business will be 
pursued on a large scale. 

The population of Jackson County is not the usual population of a 
mining country. Mining is here followed as a legitimate business, fairly 
certain and only moderate in its rewards. There is no "rich to-day, poor 
to-morrow'" class, and nothing of the reckless spirit so common iu min- 
ing countries. The people are a reliant class, accustomed to helping 
themselves, and they are well-to-do almost to a man. 

Owing to the situation of the county, as well as to the sparse popula- 
tion in proportion to the area of the county, lands are not as high in 
proportion in Jackson county as in the Willamette Valley. Good im- 
proved farms can be bought at from $10 to $ 20 per acre, the last named 
figure being for the very best places, specially well improved. Jackson- 
ville, a prosperous town of 1200 inhabitants, is the chief business point 
of the county. Ashland, with 1400 population, is not far behind, the 
notable features of the latter town being a collegiate school and a woolen 
mill. The population of the county is not far from 15,000. 

coos COUNTY 
Is not so great in extent as some of the other counties, but it is an ex- 
ceedingly rich one in the matter of timber. On the Coos Eiver there is 
good agricultural land, and the area might be indefinitely enlarged if 
the tidal marshes were diked. The coal interest is quite important. 
The yield is large, and turns in a fine revenue to the county, maintaining 
a line of steamers between Coos Bay and San Francisco. 

At the present time farming in the county is in its infancy, as not 
many who engage in this business are willing to clear the land of the 
heavy timber, and to reclaim the tide lands is quite expensive ; still, those 
who have made farming a business for several years, and who have now 
pleasant country homes, find a ready sale for the products which are 
raised, and at good prices. However, the time is not far distant when 
all the lowlands and flats will become one vast grain field, and very large 
crops of hay and grain can be raised when properly cultivated. All 
about the Coquille River region there is an underlayer of coal. Half a 
dozen mines are being worked at this time. 

Five or six large merchant sawmills produce many millions of feet of 
lumber each year, which, too, goes chiefly to the San Francisco market. 



48 OREGON AS IT IS. 

To all practical purposes Coos Bay is part of California. Its business 
and social relations are wholly with San Francisco, and worse still, its 
industries, which employ several millions of capital, are made and di- 
rected in San Francisco, and their profits, with their products, go out of 
the State. 

Besides its extensive forests of fir and spruce, Coos county has a rare 
and valuable timber, the myrtle, which needs only to become known to 
be in great demand. 

It is a fact well known that Oregon produces a greater variety and 
much finer woods than California. The Port Orford cedar is of the same 
general character, but in every practical respect a better timber than the 
redwood. Its color is better for panel and other fine work, and its gram 
is more distinct. We have a dozen or a score of other fine woods, but 
the best and most plentiful of all is the myrtle, which grows along the 
streams of the southern coast. The beauty of this wood is beyond com- 
parison. It is nearly as dark as black walnut, mottled with mahogany- 
colored streaks, is hard aud susceptible of a perfect polish, and retains 
its toughness when sawed into the thinnest veneering. 

Coos Bay has already established a reputation as the principal ship- 
yard in Oregon ; in fact, it may be said to be the only point in the State 
at which the construction of vessels has assumed the form of a regular 
business. Over fifty vessels, of all classes, have been constructed here. 
The fact is so apparent that it is now generally admitted that the timber 
in this region, for ship-building purposes, combines, in a greater degree, 
the qualities, strength, durability and buoyancy than the timber of any 
other locality known. 

JOSEPHINE COUNTY 

Was cut out] of Jackson County during the mining excitement some 
years ago. Mining is the chief business of the county, though there is 
some fine farming land in the small valleys. The lumber interest bids 
fair to be the chief one in a few years. In Josephine fruits and vegeta- 
bles, and especially melons, attain a wonderful degree of perfection. The 
county is settling up very rapidly just now. 

CUEKY COUNTY 

Is in the southwest corner of the State, and more isolated than any 
other portion of the State. It has a population of about 2300, most of 
the people being engaged in stock raising. Its area is mainly mountain- 
ous and very little of it has been surveyed. The people support them- 
selves by sheep-raising, dairying, lumbering, fishing and placer mining. 
The arable land under oultivation produces sufficiently for home con- 
sumption. Ellensburg, a thrifty town, is the chief business center of 
the county. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 49 

LAKE COUNTY, 

As its name implies, is a region of lakes, many of them considerable in 
size. The soil is generally light, composed of volcanic ashes. The 
county is about 150 miles square, and is sparsely populated. Its chief 
and. indeed, about its only interest, is stock raising. Its ranges are 
wide and fertile, and its isolation makes the land useless for puposes of 
agriculture. So little attention is giving to farming that a great share 
of the Hour consumed in Lake is imported from the adjoining county of 
Jacksou. Although a high and frosty county, it has many tine valleys 
and excellent land. Lakeview, on Goose Lake, the county seat, is a 
thriving town, with two newspapers. Sprague River Valley, quite pic- 
turesquely situated, contains 20,000 acres of excellent laud, the soil being 
a sandy loam. Linkville. on Klamath Lake, is a good trading center. 
Stock raising is the most prominent business of the county. Only within 
a recent period have the bunch-grass and sage-brush lands, which here 
abound, been cultivated, but the result of what was simply an experi- 
ment was so encouraging that a broad acreage of cereals will soon be 
produced. 

i : v st i: i: > « > i: i -:a on r. 

This comprises at least two-thirds of the State, and embraces the 
comities of Wasco, Crook, Umatilla, Grant, Union, Baker, Morrow and 
Gilliarn. Here we have a change of climate and soil from that of either 
Southern or Western Oregon. As we have said, the thermometer 
rises higher in Summer, and goes lower in Winter than in Western 
Oregon. The rainfall is less by one-half. There is scarcely any rain 
between June and September, and the harvest times are perfect. The 
heat in Summer, though greater than in Western or Southern Oregon, 
is never oppressive, aud the Winters are short, snow seldom falling 
before Christmas, and does not lie in the valley more than a week or 
so; in the hills from lour to six weeks. Spring begins in February and 
lasts till May. This is the rainy season. Eastern Oregon is famous for 
its wheat crops and stock raising. This region is now reached from the 
East direct by the Union Pacific and Oregon Short Line, the Northern 
Pacific, and connections with the Oregon Railway and Navigation Com- 
pany. The latter company make daily connections with Portland. 

Eastern Oregon and Washington consist of high table lands and roll- 
ing prairies, with a number of valleys along its water courses, of consid- 
erable extent. Taken as a whole, it is especially adapted to grazing 
purposes, although its valleys contain farming lands equal in productive- 
ness to those of any country ; and in many places the high prairies have 
produced excellent crops of grain. What is known as the Great Plain 
of the Columbia, the soil of the highlands is a sandy loam, producing, 



50 OEEGON AS IT 18. 

in its natural state, a heavy growth of wild bunch-grass of the most nu- 
tritious quality. With the exception of some barren spots, the growth 
of bunch-grass is general. 

The valleys of Eastern Oregon and Washington have a rich soil of 
black loam, producing wheat, oats, barley, corn, vegetables and fruits. 
Wheat succeeds equally as well as in Western Oregon, while barley does 
much better, often yielding as high as sixty to eighty bushels per acre. 
Corn makes a good crop in many of the valleys, the warm, dry Summer 
weather of this reginn being adapted to its growth and maturity. 

It has been generally supposed, heretofore, that corn would not ripen 
in our State. It has always been grown in small patches for table use, 
but during the last season the experiment was tried on a large scale at 
Blalock Farm, situated near the northeastern corner of Wasco county. 
The land selected has every appearance of a sandy desert, but whenever 
and wherever water is obtainable its fertility is great. Two pieces of 
ground were planted, being in all 1800 acres. The season was unusually 
dry, and on 800 acres of land the corn did not germinate. On the other 
1000 acres the corn sprouted, and was worked with the harrow alone. 
It attained a height of about five feet, with four to seven stalks in a hill. 
The yield was very heavy. The ears are long and well filled with good, 
sound corn. This same land will be replanted with corn during the 
coming season, and it is expected that with rain much better results will 
be obtained. The crop above referred to was nourished by the moisture 
contained in the soil alone, not a drop of rain having fallen upon it from 
the time it was planted until it was gathered. 

Some of the tender fruits and vegetables, as peaches, gr ipes, melons, 
tomatoes and sweet potatoes, are being cultivated with goc/1 success. 
Tobacco has succeeded well in several instances. In a general sense, 
the range of farm products varies very little from that of Western Ore- 
gon, making due allowance for the adaptabilities of a dry climate. Irri- 
gation is resorted to occasionally, for the better production of garden 
vegetables and fruits; but thus far it has not been found necessary in 
the cultivation of any kind of grain crops. The absence of timber in 
the valleys is considered a disadvantage by some ; this, however, is more 
apparent than otherwise, from the fact that the neighboring mountains 
afford an inexhaustible supply. Water of good quality is plentiful in 
all the valleys, but the number of springs and running brooks is much 
less than in the western division. 

BAKEK COUNTY 

Is about 200 miles long and 100 miles wide. It has a population of 800i> 
people. There are more than 11,000,000 acres of land in this county. 
About one-third of it has been surveyed. The climate, except in the 
southern portion, is cold in winter and warm in summer. Since the 
land has been broken and cultivated summer showers are getting more 



OREGON AS IT IS. 51 

frequent, thus insuring a good crop without irrigation. The cereals 
grow to perfection in Powder River Valley, also all kinds of vegetables 
in abundance. There is, perhaps, no county in Oregon in which pota- 
toes, onions, cabbage, parsnips, turnips, carrots, beets, strawberries, 
gooseberries and currants grow in such profusion, or of better quality, 
than in any portion of this county. In the Snake and Burnt Eiver Val- 
leys all kinds of fruit and corn grow to perfection. Powder River Valley 
is twenty-six miles long by an average of sixteen miles wide. As yet 
but a small portion is settled or in cultivation. The sage-brush land 
when cleared is the best soil. 

In addition are immense bunch-grass and sage-brush tracts, which will 
eventually be brought under the plow, only requiring irrigation in many 
places to make tbem productive. At present the unoccupied lands are 
used as grazing grounds. There are about 80,000 head of cattle herded in 
the county. Much attention is paid to horse-breeding, and the animals 
bred here are among the best produced in the State. The value of live 
stock is estimated at $1,500,000, and the farm productions last year 
amounted to $280,000. AmoDg the products are butter, cheese, wool, 
barley, corn, oats, rye, wheat, potatoes, apples and peaches. The mines, 
instead of being worked out, seem to be only partially developed. Quartz 
ledges that have lain idle and scarcely represented are now being worked 
with success. The great drawl >aek heretofore in the development of the 
mineral resources of the county has been the want of capital and the 
immense cost of mining machinery, but that obstacle has been removed 
by the completion of the railroad and the millions of dollars in the rocks 
will now be taken out and large profit will be had to the operator. 

During the past year the population of the county has increased at 
least forty per cent, and the influence of this increase is manifest in the 
rapid and substantial growth of the center of supplies Baker City. 
Carpenters, brick and stone masons, and, in fact, mechanics of all kinds, 
have been kept busy, while real estate has advanced more than 100 per- 
cent. Several large brick buildings have been erected during the sum- 
mer just past, and quite a number are under contract for next season. 

There is no county in Oregon where an industrious man, with a small 
capital,. can do better than in Baker County. There is a great deal of 
vacant land to be had, and unimproved agricrdtural land can be had for 
from $6 to $10 an acre. 

Baker City, a thriving town of 1800 inhabitants, is the county seat. 
Heretofore everything brought into or taken out of the county was 
freighted in "prairie schooners," but the railroad is now completed to 
the city and beyond via the Oregon Short Line. 

GKANT COUNTY. 

This is state-like in dimensions. Grant is a mining and stock raising 
county, and its population of 6000 is mostly engaged in these industries. 



52 OREGON AS IT IS. 

Some farming is done in the valleys, where the soil is exceedingly rich. 
It is capable of producing good wheat, vegetables, and in fact anything 
that any other section in Eastern Oregon can produce, but, like Baker 
County, it is too far from market to raise wheat for exporting. There 
are some very wealthy cattle dealers in this county, and miners are doing 
well when they have a favorable season. 

. The valleys of the John Day river, although generally narrow, are fer- 
tile, and in a good state of cultivation, and produce large crops of the 
cereals, vegetables and fruits common to the latitude. Corn, however, 
does not thrive, owing to the cool nights. Improved farms are generally 
held at $20 per acre. There are thousands of acres or government land 
in the county, subject to pre-emption and homestead entry. There is 
not, however, with the exception of Haruey valley, any large area of 
level land ; but there are hundreds of small valleys where the indus- 
trious settler may raise the produce needed by his family, as well as 
hay, to cany Ins stock through an occasional hard Winter. Grant 
county is not a farming county, but it is a stock county, and one of the 
best now to be found within the limits of the United States. With the 
stock divided among many small holders, instead of being concentrated 
within a few hands, as is too often the case, the county will support a 
large population. People familiar only with the prairies of Illinois or 
Iowa are not usually impressed with the appearance of this county ; but 
those acquainted with bunch-grass and its possibilities are loud in its 
praise. The climate of the county is not easy to describe in a few words. 
The Summer days are usually quite warm, but the nights are always 
cool. But little rain falls daring the Summer months, and crops are 
usually irrigated. The Winters are greatly modified by warm southwest 
winds from the Pacific, called " Ohinooks." * * * * * 

The county is well watered by mountain streams ; while many springs 
of mineral water are famous for their medicinal qualities. There are 
also most excellent facilities for manufacturing, but little utilized at 
present. Viewed from the sportsman's standpoint, the country is simply 
a paradise. The growth of the trees is such as to give the appearance of 
a vast park, and there is but little underbrush. Deer in great numbers 
roam the woods ; antelope bound over the plains of the Harney basin ; 
elk range the higher mountains, while the sheep leap from rock to rock 
on the highest peaks. Bears, panthers, wildcats, etc., are occasionally 
encountered. The streams are well stocked with mountain trout of 
delicious flavor. The chief towns of this county are Canyon City, the 
county seat, Prairie City and John Day, all situated in the John Day 
valley. All are prosperous towns. Schools equal to any found in a new 
and sparsely settled county are maintained and well attended. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 53 

UMATILLA COr NT Y. 

In Umatilla county we enter upon the greatest agricultural region of 
Eastern Oregon, a region made famous for its magnificent wheat and 
grain crops. Population about 14,000; area, 4.170,040 acres; surveyed, 
•2.000.1)110: settled. 1,656,200 acres. Wheat and barley are the principal 
grain crops, although oats, corn, buckwheat, flax, etc., do well. Average 
yield per acre, 20 to 10 bushels, according to the amount of rainfall. 
Water soft. No need of irrigation. The climate is much milder than 
that of the same latitude east of the Rocky Mountains. Snow very 
rarely lays on the ground outside of the moun tains, over four days. The 
soil is exceedingly fertile and easy to cultivate. All kinds of fruit not 
strictly tropical grow plentifully. Garden vegetables unsurpassed. 
Health remarkably good. The Blue Mountains afford plenty of pine, fir 
and tamarack timber. Wages are from SI to S3 per day. On grain and 
stock farms hands receive from 82.") to $50 per month. Business oppor- 
tunities good for all branches of trade. Professional opportunities are 
rather scarce. There is some good government laud still open to settle- 
ment. Muscle and capital are needed to make developments. Of 
minerals there are gold, silver and coal in the county. Game is abund- 
ant such as elk. deer, antelope, ibe, bear, cougar, panther, wolves, 
geese, ducks, etc. Fish are principally salmon and mountain trout. The 
people are hospitable, and are mostly from the Eastern States. A great 
many ambitions young men are doing well here. They came and settled 
here without money or friends a few years ago, and now they have both. 
The principal product, wheat, is worth this year 70 cents a bushel. All 
along the foot of the Blue Mountains is a stretch of fine arable country, 
from 25 to 30 miles in width. The county is well watered, and there are 
enormous tracts of sage-brush lauds, hitherto used as stock ranges, 
which must soon be settled and turned into grain fields and orchards. 
Among these may be mentioned the Cold Spring country, extending 
along the Columbia river a considerable distance, and in width about 
fifteen miles. This section is attracting considerable attention in view 
of its deep, rich soil and mild climate, which admits of the cultivation 
of tobacco, sorghum, corn, tomatoes and the finer fruits, with little fear 
of frost. Among the principal places in the county are Pendleton, the 
county seat, Pilot Rock, Umatilla, Milton, Heppner and Centerville. 
Timber for building and fencing is supplied by the Blue Mountains, 
and at Milton it is cheaply brought by a flume a distance of many miles. 

Pendleton is situated forty -four miles from the Columbia River, on the 
Umatilla, a rapid mountain stream. On the north and east it is bounded 
by the Umatilla Reservation, the finest body of land in the State, which 
will soon be open to settlement under act of Congress. The tract of 
land contains 800,000 acres. On the south and west lies the great wheat 
and stock raising country of Umatilla County. Pendleton has a flatter- 



54 OREGON AS IT IS. 

ing future. Its progress is second to no town in Oregon, having in- 
creased from 700 population in 1880 to 2500 in 1884. Its business has 
increased in proportion. 

AVASCO COUNTY 

Contains about one hundred townships, or 2,304,000 acres. Of this land, 
it is considered by our best judges that there is something more than 
half of it which has a soil suited to mixed farming, most of it without 
irrigation. It is also estimated that there are not over ten townships, 
all told, that are not of great value a portion of the year for pasturage. 
This, with immense timber resources on the Cascade range of mount- 
ains, extending across the western boundary of the county, from the 
Columbia southward, and the timber border upon the Blue Mountain 
range, on its southeastern boundary, makes it one of the most desirable 
bodies of land in the Northwest, especially as the Columbia Eiver runs 
entirely across the northern boundary. 

The everlasting snows of Mt. Hood furnish a constant, never-failing 
volume of water in DesChutes and its tributaries, which runs northerly 
across the entire westerly portion of the county, and poixr their clear, 
cool waters into the Columbia at Fultonville, fifteen miles easterly from 
The Dalles. The westerly and northwesterly watershed of the Blue 
Mountain range sends its surplus waters through the John Day River 
and its many branches into the Columbia, twenty miles above the mouth 
of the DesChutes. Thus the territory of the county, which is about 
sixty miles square, has the Columbia waters on the north, and is divided 
into three parts by the DesChutes and John Day waters from the south. 
1 he soil between these rivers and along the whole length of their sides 
up to the timber on the mountain slopes, is of unsurpassed richness, and 
suitable for vegetable growth and the production of grain, requiring 
only man's instrumentality in working and exposing its top by the plow 
and letting in the sun and air to prepare it for his uses. 

From the earliest settlement of the country until recently that region 
has been devoted almost exclusively to stock raising. As the popxilation 
increased the ranges were occupied and it became necessary to sell off 
the cattle. Very naturally the attention of the people was directed to 
agriculture, which formerly had been carried on only to the extent of 
supplying local consumptive demands. There was serious question as 
to the capacity of the country for general farming — not with reference 
to the richness of the soil, for that was unquestioned, but it was feared 
that the long seasons of dry weather would be fatal to general crops. 
The experiment, however, has been tried, and the result is highly satis- 
factory. Crops last year were fair, and this year more than fair. Wheat, 
which was quite generally grown, is a splendid crop. The yield is re- 
ported to average from 22 to 26 bushels to the acre. Many fields, partic- 
ularly well cultivated, yielded 30 bushels or more to the acre, and others, 



OREGON AS IT IS. 55 

where farming methods were poor, did not produce more than 15 bush- 
els, but the average was fully up to expectations. It is demonstrated 
beyond question that the country will raise grain, and that it will raise 
other farm products goes with this without saying. 

The spring seas. >n of northern Wasco County is a month earlier than that 
of the Willamette Valley, and its "truck" products could always have 
the first and highest sales in the market of Portland. The country is 
splendidly adapted for this kind of farming, and with it the drouths 
which must be expected occasionally will interfere less than with wheat 
as an exclusive crop. Besides, vegetable and fruit crops do not drain 
and impoverish the soil as does grain growing. Northern Wasco is the 
most favored region of this much-favored State for fruit production. It 
lacks some of the minor advantages pf Southern Oregon, but this is 
more than compensated by its situation next door to the Portland mar- 
ket. Apples, cherries, pears, peaohes and small fruits mature very early 
there, an ■ iicir form and flavor is unsurpassed. 

UNION COUNTY. 

This is situated in the extreme northeastern part of the State, and is 
about 100 miles square. The surface of the country, embraced within 
the county limits, is mountainous and generally quite elevated. Grande 
Ptonde Valley being about 2,700 feet above the level of the sea. The 
mountains are much higher. In places they are five, six, and in some in- 
stances, perhaps seven thousand feet above the sea. 

The climate is generally dry, though fairly seasonable as to rainfall. 
The fall rains begiu usually in September, but are not generally copious 
until the latter part of October or the first of November. From about 
the middle of November to the first or middle of March, there is usually 
more or less snow, which in the more elevated sections accumulates to 
considerable depth, and in the higher mountains remains until late in 
the spring, v..A entirely disappearing in the highest ranges until in July. 
The latter part of March, ail of April, and the early part of May is usu- 
ally more or less interspersed with showers, and generally there are sea- 
sonable showers in June and July. 

There are not less than 400,000 acres of the best quality of agricultural 
lands and twice as much grazing land in the county, the residue of the 
county is covered with an almost inexhaustible supply of timber of a 
very superior quality, embracing pine, spruce, tamarack and fir. Union 
is a splendid stock and butter county, and is finely adapted to fruit 
growing. Horse breeding is a great industry in this section, and valua- 
ble importations of thoroughbred stock from California and Kentucky 
have been made. The bare and timberless hills are covered with succu- 
lent bunch-grass, while the pasturage in the pine forests, though less nu- 



56 OREGON AS IT IS. 

tritions in its nature, is so well sheltered that cattle keep fat and strong 
during the severest winters. There are two considerable towns in the 
county, Union and LaGrande. 

CROOK COUNTY. 

Was cut away from Wasco, and forms its southern boundary. It has a 
population of about 8,000. Most of the inhabitants of this county ;ire 
engaged in stock-raising, though there are large tracts of good soil for 
general farming, in the county. These wide areas will become very valu- 
able in time, and the immigrant who settles there now will reap a rich 
reward as the county settles up. 

MORROW AND GILLIAM 

Are two new counties created by the Legislative Assembly of 1885. Mor- 
row County was almost entirely taken from Umatilla ; a small portion 
from Grant and Wasco. The county seat was fixed at Heppner, and the 
general description of Umatilla will answer for it. 

Gilliam County was wholly taken from Wasco. The county seat is at 
Alkali, a flourishing town on the Oregon Railway and Navigation Com- 
pany's railroad, 138 miles from Portland. 



LB D '10 



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i'Ii'LIWiI'i/'i 



THE WEST SHORE, 

(Now in its eleventh year of publication), 

An illustrated monthly magazine; gives information about Oregon, Wash- 
ington, Idaho and Montana. It is connected with no land office or real 
estate agency, but is a genuine journal of information. Illustrations of 
scenery, improvements and industries appear in every number, accompanied 
by reliable descriptions. Only $2 a year. Send 25 cts. for sample copy. 

Address: THE WEST SHORE, 

Drawer 3, Portland, Oregon. 






IBRARY 




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